If that isn't enough to convince you to give money to the relief effort, maybe this will.

If every student at the UA were to donate just $5 to the relief effort, that would generate more than $185,000.

That would be enough money for 115 homes or 1,057 tents.

And all of that is enough to make life better for another family that lost every possession the day after Christmas. It is enough to make life better for the orphaned child who is at risk of being abducted and forced into the sex industry.

Look at the story of Mercy Corps, which is helping individuals and towns get back on their feet by paying people just $3.30 an hour to clean up disaster areas.

The stories coming out of South Asia (which you can find in The New York Times coverage) are heartbreaking and telling of the kind of support everyone there needs.

14-year-old Andrian lost his mother, his father, two brothers and 26 members of his extended family. He lives in a refugee tent because his home was destroyed.

Fisherman Zul Fikar lost his wife, his mother-in-law, his 11-month-old son, his home and his job.

Hospitals are overcrowded, and doctors have begun resorting to amputation to save the lives of those with infected limbs. (The physically handicapped face horrible discrimination in many countries in South Asia.)

The relief effort, according to U.N. Secretary General Kofi Annan, needs at least $977 million in the next six months. And that does not include what is needed for long-term reconstruction.

Just as important, it is also time for the world - it is time for you - to start thinking about what can be done to alleviate the poverty that allows a tsunami to cause destruction of "biblical proportions."

Very few of us can understand the extent of the devastation and destruction. In fact, unless you have seen what poverty in Asia was like before the tsunamis hit, you probably cannot comprehend the suffering.

The outpouring of support from around the world is amazing, but what would be even more meaningful and impressive would be wealthy countries' commitment to the world.

It is hard to explain why more than 150,000 people died on Dec. 26. But perhaps we can take it as a sign that we need to invest in the lives of those who live in dire poverty on the other side of the world.

So I have a challenge for everyone: Get out of your American bubble where not even a hurricane can cause the kind of devastation we're seeing in Asia.

Get out in the world and see what poverty really means. Understand how such extreme poverty inevitably leads to catastrophes of "biblical proportions."

The world lives.

And if you can't make a trip abroad, read the news, watch the news. Go see "Hotel Rwanda." Read books that describe how people in third world countries live. Just be an active participant in global affairs.

Hopefully then you will realize that it is our ignorance - your ignorance - that lets people live in Asia without a tsunami warning system.

It is our ignorance - your ignorance - that allows 31,000 people to die in the Congo every month.

The day disaster hit Asia, Dec. 26, most Americans were shopping at the malls for the post-Christmas sales. Maybe it's time we gave up a shopping spree or a football game to learn about others and the poverty in which others live.

You might say it's not your problem. Asia's poverty is Asia's problem. Then think about the more than 4,000 Americans who are missing. At some point, Asia's poverty does become our problem.

This disaster in Asia is just the first sign that even though an ocean separates us from Indonesia, Sri Lanka, Thailand and India, we are not so far apart.

So truth be told: In our globalized, well-traveled world, global poverty is our problem.

For more information on how to contribute to the tsunami disaster relief effort, visit the UA Cares Web site at http://uacares.arizona.edu/tsunami/

If you're interested in studying in places like those devastated by the tsunami, applications for the David L. Boren Undergraduate Scholarship, which pays for study in a non-traditional location, are due Wednesday. For more information contact the Honors College at 520-621-6901.

Keren G. Raz is a senior majoring in English and political science. She can be reached at letters@wildcat.arizona.edu.