It seems surreal to me that with today’s sophistication, people are dying of starvation. We’ve sent a rover to Mars, mapped the human genome and can send information across the world almost instantaneously. Yet, we can’t seem to make sure that a newborn in Somalia is getting enough food or clean water. Or, that he is given the life saving vaccines he needs – but that’s another post altogether.
The World Food Program, USA endeavors to feed the hungry people of the world. The WHOLE world. And they’re clever about it, too. No roads into a village needing food? No problem! They’ve got elephants, camels and yaks at the ready. Seriously. WFP feeds 90 million people every year. Here’s how:
But, in spite of their logistical prowess, they have a long way to go before the world can go to bed with full bellies. According to WFP, there are 925 million hungry people in the world. The combined population of Canada, USA and the European Union is only 41 million. And how about this? Hunger is the world’s NUMBER 1 health risk. It kills more people each year than AIDS, malaria and TB combined. The good news is that hunger is 100% curable.
Like all charitable organizations, WFP cannot continue their life saving work without support – financial, vocational and good ol’ elbow grease. If you don’t have money to spare, special talents to lend to the cause or the time to volunteer, there are other ways to help. The first is by spreading the word about WFP USA. Tweet them, post them on facebook or just tell (use your mouth to convey information and exchange ideas) your friends. Second, you can play the free rice game. For every correct answer to random trivia questions, a few grains of rice are donated to people in need. Have some time while you’re waiting in the car line for the kids? Log on and fill someone’s bowl.
WFP USA Support Page
Of course, our favorite way is by using Homepage Heroes every time you shop online. When you buy from a retailer on Homepage Heroes, about 3% is donated to the charity of your choice. Guess what this week’s featured charity is? Yep. Just click on the picture above and bookmark it. Use the drawer labeled, “Shop for Charity” to find some of the web’s most popular retailers. Still don’t see the shop you need? Click the “View All Retailers” button which will bring you to our mall of nearly 1000 stores. If you would like to be able to change the background image, search engine and retailers displaying in the drawer, register with HH and gain access to full page features. Just don’t forget to choose World Food Program, USA!
Tracilyn, you really touched on a heartwrenching topic. Hard to imagine there is so much suffering from hunger in this world, especially when you see all the food that is wasted everyday. Ikow starvation not only occurs in third world countries, but here in the good old US of A as well. WFP seems like a great place to start helping as well as other charities such as the Catholic Church’s programs, the Red Cross, Salvation Army and other inner city food programs. Thanks for bringing this subject back to our attention.
Heart-wrenching is definitely appropriate here. And, it’s so easy to get caught up in the, “But what can I really do?” mentality. One of my favorite quotes is by Mother Theresa. She said, “If you cannot feed 100 people then just feed one”. If we all lived by that rule, the world would be much better off. Thanks for the comment, Fred : )
I agree, that if you can’t help a hundred, help one. I honestly believe if we all lived by that simple philosophy and treated each other as we wished to be treated ourselves, there would be no hunger in the world. But it is true also that governments need to stop making it so difficult to do something. I worked at a woman’s shelter for many years. We were funded through donations and some limited government support. These woman and their children had run from abusive and often very frightening environments to keep safe in the shelter. It would break my heart when a church group or some other good Samaritan would drop off food left over from a large company or group function and we could not take it to feed these woman and their children. WHY? because it might not be safe, fear of being sued etc. What about hot dog days or bake sales in schools to raise money for very worthy causes? Those too are now fraught with bureaucracy because the food is not prepared in a registered health inspected kitchen. So, while people are going hungry in our own backyard, officials and politicians are putting many road blocks into helping the needy. So, when I read about a charity like World Food Program, I want to shout out Hurray, thank you for making a difference. With Love Sue from The Angel Pendant, making a difference one angel at a time.
Ugh. I can only imagine the frustration you must have felt. Good food that will be wasted instead of nourishing people who need it. I’m convinced there are enough caring people in the world to eradicate hunger. Unfortunately, there are also enough rules to eradicate their actions!
Good article , thanks and we want more! Added to FeedBurner likewise.