TORONTO - Could you live on $1.75 a day and eat nutritiously? Hundreds of Canadians are going to join thousands around the world next week in a cha...

The international community struggles with the challenge of serving the world's poor in an urban environment. In this struggle, Plan turned its attention to one of the most vulnerable groups in poor urban centres -- young girls.

Extreme poverty is the most severe form of poverty -- in Canada, it equates to living off just $1.75 a day for everything in life. This tiny dollar amount has to pay for food, housing, medicine, water and education costs -- all for less than the money we would spend on a single bus fare or a morning coffee.

It can be difficult fundraising for any cause, let alone one that's not in your own backyard. That's the number one concern of potential donors I've approached over the years for the World Partnership Walk (WPW), Canada's largest volunteer-driven fundraising event for international development.

In recent weeks, we have heard statements from leaders on the international stage that we are on the path to eradicating absolute poverty in the next two decades. I'd prefer we wait to 2030 to really celebrate how much we did to close the gap and assure that these numbers reflect all countries and the people in them -- and that no one gets left behind.

Coffee's capacity to create social equality and alleviate poverty is based on two key factors -- its ability to connect developing (producers) and developed (consumers) countries, and the sheer volume of people that are employed by it.

While "Giving Tuesday" hasn't fully migrated north to Canada, the idea behind it is appealing. With all the ads and other reminders to shop and give at this time of year, I think it's worth stepping back for a moment to consider how and why we give and also the far-reaching results certain gifts can generate.

Hurricane Sandy certainly got our attention. Billions of dollars (and counting) in damages. Communities crippled and left in the cold without electricity. Nearly 200 lives lost. Sadly, with the stark realities of climate change and frequency of extreme weather events, this likely won't be the last natural disaster we experience or witness in our lifetime or even this decade. So, what are we to do about that?

On October 11, 2012 the world marked the first-ever International Day of the Girl. The celebration was bittersweet, though, given it occurred against the backdrop of worldwide shock and headlines concerning 14-year-old Malala Yousafzai, a young activist from Pakistan, shot in the head by a Taliban member because of her ongoing work and advocacy to ensure more girls get to go to school.

This fall, we released a report from this study called, Hopes and Dreams, which provides a detailed look into the girls' lives at the tender age of five. There was good news: the majority of the girls in our study have parents who have high aspirations for them and who promote gender equality in their households.