The Cause
We've all been embarrassed when we had our stomach growl in public. We were just so absolutely hungry, right? Maybe we even described ourselves as "starving." Hopefully this month will help us all realize that most of us have never even tasted hunger, much less starvation. Today. there are 854 million people, across the world, that are hungry.
Worldwide, over one billion people live on less than $1 a day, which is lower than the international poverty line. This extreme poverty entangles people in a vicious cycle that is almost impossible to get out of. One reason so many people are living in such wrecked economical conditions is due to the resources and energies expended on finding food instead of on work. The undernourishment weakens people's physical condition, work productivity and, ultimately, destroys the hope needed for their well-being. One of every three people that live malnourished will either prematurely die or end up with a disability of some sort.
In 2005 alone, somewhere around 10.1 million children ended up dying before their 5th birthday. The majority of these were found to be in developing countries. Seventy-five percent (75%) of them were in the two regions that are known to have the highest rates of hunger and malnutrition. However, most of these deaths occurred due to diseases that weren't able to be fought off by the children's immune systems because of the weakness caused by nutrition deficiencies.
In all reality, the epitome of poverty is hunger; poverty so extreme that people can't provide for their most basic, everyday needs. Unlike those in our own country, and other developed nations, the majority of hungry people in the world don't have social safety nets like soup lines, food stamps, or other various government aided programs.
Almost 16,000 children die from hunger each day. That adds up to 5.8 million children each year, which breaks down to one child dying every 5 seconds. Meaning that the average reader has been on this page long enough for over 20 children to have died of hunger.
School feeding programs are important to education in developing countries like Jamaica. Deprived of a morning meal, many children fall asleep at their desks, too listless to learn. Food For The Poor provides nutritional food to schools through the Caribbean and Latin America, enabling children to learn.
Thinner than their shadows, Mercedes Visiosa’s grandchildren stand around their grandmothers’ cooking pot waiting for their one meal of the day. The thin bowl of soup will serve the whole family. The children live on the border of the Dominican Republic shares with Haiti. Life here is harsh, with malnutrition prevalent among the young.
Hungry, in pain, the baby would not stop crying. Fritzel had eaten nothing since the day before, when he had a handful of white rice. When asked what she would do, his mother looked up and whispered, “I don’t know. The only thing I can do is hold him.” Too many children in Haiti cry from hunger. The tears sometimes only stop when they grow too listless … and eventually die.
Alicia, 4, and her sister, Leidy, 3, never received a warm hug. Their tears were never wiped away by a loving hand. Their pitiful cries for food went unanswered. Like many orphans and abandoned children in Guatemala, Alicia and Leidy never knew love. Their father and grandmother tied them to a front porch post and frequently beat them. Upon being rescued, the little girls weighed as much as the average 6-month-old baby.
Caring people, warm hugs and comfort they never received at home slowly helped Alicia and Leidy heal from their traumatic experience. Although they are now safe at an orphanage in Guatemala and receiving help from Food For The Poor, the effects of starvation, neglect and abuse have ravaged these innocent little girls physically, mentally and emotionally.
The Connection
Food for the Poor is an international relief organization that is working in 16 different countries in Latin America & the Caribbean to aid the poor by doing several things for them, such as:
- feeding them
- housing them
- providing an education
- providing medical assistance
- and many other things
During the 25 years since its inception, they have given over $3 billion to aid those in need, building over 40,000 houses, and feeding innumerable amounts of people, making it the third largest international relief organization in the United States today.
In Haiti alone, FFP programs feed over 1,100,000 people daily. A large portion of the $734 million shipped in 2005 consisted of medical supplies and medicine to help supply hospitals, clinics and AIDS facilities.
Angels of Hope is an initiative of FFP that focuses on the needs of orphans. They have selected over 86 orphanages, giving hope to more than 3,000 children in 9 countries.
Food for the Poor also seeks to develop micro-enterprises amongst the villages. The aim is to give the very poor the tools they need to break the cycle of poverty by making a living. They've supplied 17 villages with boats, motors, fishing gear, refrigeration equipment, storage facilities for the equipment, and, most importantly, training for the fisherman.
Not enough can be said about the operational efficiency of FFP. The administrative cost ratio was only 3.7% during 2005-2006, with fund raising and administrative costs adding to less than 4% of the expenses. That means that over 96% of all donations went directly to the operations and programs that aid the poor. They have also received the highest ratings available from such organizations as Ministry Watch and Charity Navigator. Grants received from the USDA and USAID show the governments approval of FFP's operations.
There are several ways to get involved with Food for the Poor. Visit their website by clicking the banner below or go straight to the donations page and choose from one of several ways to give of your finances.
