Muhammed

Stumping the Smartest

Hi! I am Rocky's friend, Muhammed. I know everything. How much do you know??

The United States is bigger, but Bangladesh has 128 million people in a state the size of Wisconsin That means it's crowded where I live!

The United States definitely has more money. If you took all the money in the United States and gave an equal amount to every person, each person would have $29,000. If we did that in Bangladesh, each person would have $360 dollars. That's a dollar a day. Could you live on that?

The average American lives until he or she is 77 years old. In my country, the average person lives to 59. This is not as good as in the United States, but thanks to improving health conditions, we have come a long way. In 1980, the average person here only lived to 48. Your church and Lutherans around the world work with partners in Bangladesh to help people live healthier and longer lives.

In the United States, more than 95% of the people have access to safe water. In my country, only 48% have clean water to drink. This causes all kinds of health problems, including the deaths of many young children.

In Bangladesh, only 26% of women can read. When a family has little money, the boys often get an education before the girls do. Only half the girls in Bangladesh are in school! In the United States, over 95% of women can read, and nearly all of the girls are in school. The Lutheran World Federation helps women earn enough money to send all of their children to school.

For every 1,000 people in America, there are 459 computers. In Bangladesh, for every 1,000 people there is less than 1 computer. Most of the computers in Bangladesh are found in the major cities and universities.

For every 40 units of energy that an American uses - whether he or she is using a light bulb or running his or her car - a Bengali uses only 1 unit of energy!

That was a no-brainer! Of course the United States pollutes more. In fact, for every 1 pound of carbon dioxide (a gas that worsens the greenhouse effect) that my country produces, the United States produces 100!

If I did not challenge you enough or you want to learn more, these figures are taken from UNICEF's Statistical Web page and also the World Bank Fact Sheet. Read up!

It was nice meeting you. Keep learning, and maybe one day you can stump me!