Another 81,000 people were added to Israel's poverty rolls in the year 2001. The total number of people living under the poverty level at the end of 2001 stood at 1,169,000 - including over a half-million children. Labor and Welfare Minister Eli Yeshai forecasts that the cuts in the budget soon to be passed in the Knesset will only increase the numbers. Efraim Rivkin, director of the Orot Chessed nation-wide charity organization, said that he senses that the number of needy families has grown: "Thank G-d, people here are willing to give, but the needs are growing faster than they can be filled."