One in Nine
Growing up in New England, May meant that summer was on its way. Spring in New England is notoriously winter-like, but by May, the grass was usually green and the threat of snow was slim-to-none. Since moving to Florida in 2017, I haven’t had to deal with snowy springs or cold temperatures in my favorite month; but, as a teacher in the Sunshine State, May has another bonus: the end of the school year. While my fellow teachers in New England have six weeks left in their school year, my summer vacation starts in less than two weeks (of course, we go back to school the first week of August, so it all balances out, I suppose).
Oh, another thing: my birthday is at the end of May.
If you’re a person of a certain age and you spend any time on Facebook, you’ve probably seen your friends post fundraisers for their birthdays, asking for donations to be made to certain charities in lieu of birthday gifts. Animal shelters, disease research funds, hospitals, etc. This year, for my 34th birthday, I’m raising money for the United Nations World Food Programme. The World Food Programme works in over 80 countries around the world. The UNWFP has pledged to end world hunger by 2030 but working within communities to develop sustainable nutrition programs and assist in food shortages where they are most severe. In 2010, the WFP published their list of Ten Ways to Feed the World, which includes humanitarian action; school meals; safety nets; connecting small farmers to markets; first 1,000 days; empowering women; technology; resiliency; individual power; leadership.
Over 800 million people on the planet are food insecure, a vast majority of them in the developing world. That works out to about 1 in 9 people. Food insecurity is the inability to gain access to food on a regular basis. People who are food insecure often do not know where their next meal is going to come from. 1 in 9 people do not have access to enough food to maintain a healthy lifestyle. 1 in 4 children worldwide are stunted due to food insecurity. “ Hunger and malnutrition are in fact the number one risk to health worldwide — greater than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined,” according to the United Nations.
I have never been one of the 1 in 9. I’m blessed to have grown up in a home where food was always accessible. Eating out was never a luxury. When I said aloud that I was “starving,” or even just “hungry,” it was always hyperbole. Even today nearly in my mid-thirties, when I go home and scope out the fridge, groaning at the fact that there’s “nothing to eat,” I know I’m staring at more food than hundreds of millions of people see weekly. Monthly.
Additionally, 1.2 billion people worldwide do not have clean drinking water. Last year, the United Nations published a report that claimed by 2050, more than 5 billion people would be facing water shortages on a more consistent basis, and that water quality would also decrease worldwide.
This week, as my school year winds down, I’m showing my 9th grade Human Geography students the film The Boy who Harnessed the Wind (based on the 2010 book). It’s a Netflix original, just released in January of this year. The film tells the true story of William Kamkwamba, who as a teenager in 2001, built a wind turbine to provide electricity to his drought-stricken village in Malawi. Following the events of the film, the real-life William continued to invent, get his education, graduate from Dartmouth College, host a TED talk, and start a nonprofit organization to“ pursue rural economic development and education projects in Malawi.”
It’s an inspiring story (and a well-made film, for sure). while the film celebrates William’s ingenuity and the support of his village, money is central to the circumstances of William. There isn’t a lot of money seen in the film — it’s often spoken of, but rarely seen. Yet money — or lack of it — is central to the story. The nearby forest is destroyed when the trees are sold to a lumber company, which in turn offers the villagers a small amount of money for the inconvenience. The lack of trees opens up the fields for flooding; when the rains come, flood waters drown the seeds and kill any hope for crops. William’s parents cannot pay the fees for his schooling; his father visits a businessman friend, who informs him that there will be no government financial assistance coming for Malawi’s farmers. Later, when the food supply is at its lowest, William, his parents, and sister are forced to choose what one meal a day they’ll be eating — breakfast or supper. When William acquires the small piece of technology he needs to get his windmill prototype working, it comes at its own heavy price for his family.
While there’s no mention of the United Nations or the WFP in the film, food insecurity and water scarcity are front and center. “We are having a food crisis,” one character says, adding that the government “won’t admit it’s happening.” Despite the inspirational nature of William’s true story, watching the film left me desperate for solutions.
The most effective solution with any human cause is money. Financial assistance to any charity is the most efficient way to contribute to a cause, whether it be political, personal, or otherwise. A $15 donation to the World Food Programme could feed a single child for a month; $75 would feed a family for a month. Save the Children, another nonprofit that works with children throughout the world, told ABC News in 2017 that a $10 donation would provide a weeks’ worth of necessary protein for malnourished children in famine-stricken countries. Even a small donation can make a noticeable and necessary difference.
Food insecurity is not just a problem in underdeveloped or developing countries. That 1 in 9 statistic includes people in your neighborhood, your classroom, your office, or even your extended family. No community — local, regional, national, or global — is exempt from food insecurity.
It seems like we’re always fighting something. Environmental issues, gender inequality, religious conflict, political oppression. But feeding hungry people is more than a health issue — it’s social, cultural, and political. Research shows that reducing global hunger will yield positive results for local economies, women’s rights, and even climate change. In a time when it seems like there’s nothing to be done about anything, this is an example of a small something being able to make a significant difference. One child, one family, one community at a time.
To donate to any of the below charities, click any of the links.
To find a local food bank in your community, visit here: https://www.feedingamerica.org/find-your-local-foodbank
