In order to make a more direct connection, it sometimes helps to understand the hardships faced by these young people in their communities. Below is a list of statistics gathered from leading international sources about the difficult conditions present in some of the countries where the foundation is currently active. 

India:

Child malnutrition (for children under 5 years) stands at 44% (source: World Bank, 2001-07). 

An estimated 42% of India's population falls below the international poverty line of $1.25 a day (source: World Bank, 2005). 

In 2005 an estimated 5.7 million men, women and children in India were living with HIV/AIDS. Most of them are in the 15-49 age group and almost 40 per cent of them, or 2.4 million in 2008, are women (source: National AIDS Control Organisation, 2005). 

Bangladesh:

The literacy rate is 47.9% in people over 15 years of age. (source: CIA World Factbook, 2001).

The risk of infectious disease is indicated as high, with prevalent food or waterborne diseases being bacterial and protozoal diarrhea, hepatitis A and E, and typhoid fever, while common vectorborne diseases include dengue fever and malaria in some locations. (source: CIA World Factbook, 2009.)

45% of the Bangladeshi population lives below the poverty line (source: CIA World Factbook, 2004).

Sri Lanka:

50 percent of 15- to 18-year-old Sri Lankan children drop out of the school system annually, and 12 percent of 5 to 14 year olds never attend school (UNICEF report, "The Annual State of the World's Children", 1998).

Access to safe drinking water is out of the reach of 27.91 percent of the population in Sri Lanka, leading to the rapid spread of diarrhoea, cholera and other diseases. 23.84 percent of the population do not have access to proper lavatories and sanitation. (source: UNDP Report on Sri Lanka, 1998).

Ethiopia:

Over 50% of the population is subsisting ‘food-insecure’ (source: World Bank, 2005).

Close to 78% of the population is subsisting on less than US $2/day. (source: Human Development Report, 2007.)

The average life expectancy is 53 years (source: UN, 2008).

The average births per woman is 5.24 (source: UNFPA, 2008).

An estimated 989,000 children have been orphaned by HIV/AIDS (source: UNICEF, 2009).

42.1% of the Ethiopian population over age 15 can read and write (source: CIA World Fact Book, 2003).

Kenya:

Only 57% of the population has access to an improved water source (source: World Bank, 2007).

Life expectancy at birth is on average only 53 years (source: World Bank, 2007).

Nairobi’s population is set to nearly double to almost six million by 2025, and 60% of residents live in slums with limited or no access to even the most basic services such as clean water, sanitation, housing, education and healthcare. (source: Oxfam, 2009).

Maldives:

The high prevalence of thalassaemia continues to be a major challenge for the country. Approximately one sixth of the population is affected by the condition, which is one of the highest incidences of the disease in the world. The number of children under treatment has increased, with an average of 40 new cases detected every year. Intensive awareness campaigns, rigorous screening and improved treatment have increased the life expectancy of thalassaemics (source: WHO Maldives).