A global survey of nearly 3,000 children in developing nations showed they are both hungry to learn and just plain hungry, the project's officials said.
The results of the survey -- titled Small Voices, Big Dreams, conducted on children ages 10-12 in Asia, Africa and the Americas -- will be released to accompany the Nov. 20 United Nations'
Universal Children's Day, organizers said.
The survey was sponsored and conducted in the field by ChildFund Alliance, a global alliance of child development organizations, and Ipsos Observer, an international research company based in Paris, compiled and tabulated it.
Fifty-seven percent of the world's poorest children surveyed said if they were president of their country they would provide education
for all children, improve school quality and construct more schools.
Thirty-four percent, asked what they need most in their lives, said more or better education.
Thirty-three percent, however, said they need food the most. When asked "What would you spend a dollar on?" 45 percent said food and/or water.
As president, 19 percent said they would help others get food.
Twenty-six percent said they work at least half of each day on household chores or other types of work.
"One of our guiding principles is to listen to the voices of those living in poverty, to focus on organizing and empowering communities so that they can lead their own development, and for ChildFund, we are especially attentive to the voices of children in helping us identify concerns and develop solutions. This survey is one means of making sure we hear these children and understand
their outlook so that we can respond appropriately through our varied programs," said David Taylor, chairman of ChildFund Alliance.