Feed the Hungry
You’ll feel fuller too!
“When we quit thinking primarily about ourselves and our own self-preservation, we undergo a truly heroic transformation of consciousness.” — Joseph Campbell
According to the World Health Organization, approximately one billion people on the planet are malnourished. Every day ~16,000 children die from hunger-related causes. Poor nutrition and calorie deficiencies cause nearly one in three people to die prematurely or suffer negative health impacts.
Fortunately, there are special people and organizations that dedicate themselves to preventing malnutrition and starvation around the world, and you can contribute to their humanitarian work. Contributing to a cause beyond your self-interest and living up to the elevating virtues of humanity, justice and transcendence can generate great benefit to you as well as to the recipients of your generosity.
Saving the World
“This is the true joy in life, the being used for a purpose recognized by yourself as a mighty one; the being a force of Nature instead of a feverish selfish little clod of ailments and grievances complaining that the world will not devote itself to making you happy.” — George Bernard Shaw
In his book Blessed Unrest, Paul Hawken describes the special people and organizations committed to social justice and environmental causes such as climate change, clean water, deforestation, conservation, poverty, hunger, education, peace and human rights. He estimates that there are between one and two MILLION such organizations worldwide!
There are a number of programs that can directly or indirectly reduce hunger and starvation, including:
- Food distribution programs (food banks, child nutrition programs)
- Sustainable agriculture programs (teach a person to fish …)
- Economic development programs (poverty is the #1 cause of hunger)
- Health programs (sick people can’t work/earn/eat)
- Education programs (an educated person is less likely to be poor/hungry)
- Population programs (fewer people = more food per person)
- Peace/conflict resolution programs (war is a major cause of hunger)
PLEASE HELP!
You can help feed those who are starving TODAY. Consider contributing some money or a few hours per month helping your chosen cause to raise unrestricted funds, the lifeblood of every non-profit. Just ask how you can help and they will tell you! You could sponsor a local fundraiser. You could volunteer at your local food bank. The opportunities are endless. Go ahead: Elevate yourself!
“We can only have the highest happiness … by having wide thoughts and much feeling for the rest of the world as well as ourselves.” — George Eliot
Imagine what would happen if every person who was trying to achieve their own healthy weight also contributed their time and money to fighting world hunger. There would be a great re-balancing of resources for a more equitable and just and safe world. Here are some opportunities to make a difference:
“Plumpy’Nut”
Providing high energy food to starving children in places with no electricity, refrigeration, clean water or trained health professionals has always been a challenge. Then pediatric nutritionist André Briend blended the chocolate spread Nutella with milk powder, sugar, peanut paste, vitamins and minerals. His recipe, called “Plumpy’Nut”, a kind of Ready to Use Therapeutic Food (RUTF) that provides balanced nutrition with a taste that children love. It has had a profound impact on the childhood starvation that kills an estimated one million children each year. Plumpy’Nut has achieved a remarkable 90% success rate in Niger, reducing childhood mortality from malnutrition from 35% to 5%. To bring Plumpy’Nut to starving children worldwide, contribute to The United Nations Children’s Fund at unicef.org and Médecins Sans Frontières (Doctors Without Borders) at msf.org and doctorswithoutborders.org
The Campaign for Female Education
The United Nations has determined that one of the most powerful ways to alleviate hunger and poverty and improve human rights is to educate girls and young women. Because better educated women tend to be healthier, wealthier, have fewer children and to invest the fruits of their education and work back into their children and family, the return on each dollar invested in the education of girls is great.
The Campaign for Female Education is dedicated to fighting poverty and HIV/AIDS in rural Africa by educating girls and investing in their economic independence and leadership once they complete school. They work with local communities to build a supportive environment in which girls can attend and succeed at primary and secondary school, and progress into young adulthood with opportunities that include professional training, higher education and job creation. To contribute, go to https://camfed.org/us/
The Grameen Foundation
The Grameen Bank Project (Grameen means “rural” or “village”) was founded in 1976 by Professor Muhammad Yunus with the mission of eliminating poverty by providing the rural poor of Bangladesh with financial services such as small loans (“microfinance”), saving accounts, pension plans and loan insurance. The Bank stops the exploitation of the poor by money lenders and creates opportunities for self-employment to end the vicious circle of low income, low saving & low investment. The Grameen Bank today has over 7.5 million borrowers, 65% of whom have significantly improved their socio- economic conditions and lifted themselves out of extreme poverty. The Grameen Foundation is carrying out the bank’s mission worldwide. To contribute, go to grameenfoundation.org
The Hunger Project
The Hunger Project seeks to end hunger and poverty by empowering people in Africa, Asia and Latin America to lead lives of self-reliance, meet their own basic needs and build better futures for their children. The Hunger Project carries out its mission through three essential activities: mobilizing village clusters at the grassroots level to build self-reliance, empowering women as key change agents, and forging effective partnerships with local government. To contribute, go to thp.org
Other charitable organizations you may want to consider supporting include:
- Action Against Hunger: www.actionagainsthunger.org
- American Friends Service Committee: www.afsc.org
- Family Care International: www.familycareintl.org
- Feeding America: www.feedingamerica.org
- Freedom from Hunger: www.freedomfromhunger.org
- Friends of the World Food Program: www.friendsofwfp.org
- International Women’s Health Coalition: www.iwhc.org
- Partners in Health: www.pih.org
- Room to Read: www.roomtoread.org
- WaterAid: www.wateraidamerica.org
You can explore and support other non-profit organizations through www.charitynavigator.org and at www.idealist.org. Your contributions will return to you in the form of positive feelings of elevation as you align yourself with the highest human virtues of charity and benevolence and justice.
“Teach this triple truth to all: A generous heart, kind speech, and a life of service and compassion are the things which renew humanity.” — Buddha
