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To the editor:

Global poverty is an issue that touches and affects every aspect of life on our planet, not just in regions of the world dubbed “underdeveloped.”

As a Virginia and Suffolk native, it is hard to imagine how ridding the world of global poverty would help any part of life here at home, in Suffolk. However, this is not necessarily the case.

Returns on investments in countries that give more aid to help fight global poverty are usually almost 10 times the amount that is put in. The United States investing in futures abroad also means investing in futures here at home. Businesses see that it is of interest to every American, no matter where you live and where you are from, that global poverty is addressed.

The world’s fastest growing economies are also some of the world’s poorest, and helping their growth means helping growth at home. Companies like Amazon, investing and building in Suffolk communities, do that in part because the wider market is growing and affecting domestic production to meet a growing demand, and this is because as people escape poverty, they start to build lives for themselves that mean being opened up to a wider market.

Supporting organizations like The Borgen Project mean that every citizen can take in their hands the future of American commerce as well as the wider goal of building a better future for all in Suffolk, in America, and beyond. Global poverty does not need to exist on this planet, and even everyone in Suffolk can help make an impact to help address global poverty.

Avery Benton

Suffolk