As we in America worry about the possible loss of homes, melting banks and disappearing jobs in the face of a global recession, there is a crisis of an even more dramatic proportion. World-wide, more than a billion people are starving. They have no food. They had no food yesterday and they will not have food tomorrow. With the richest nations now dealing with economic recession, donations to food banks for third world nations have diminished. And there is a holocaust of hunger.
In times of crisis we often cannot think beyond our own immediate needs and problems. True enough, there are those in our nation who will be hit hard and may face hunger themselves. It is improbable, however, that we will see starvation as it exists in third world countries. Our children will not be eating mud cookies. Over time we will once again rise from the ashes. In the interim, children and adults in Africa, the Dominican Republic, Haiti and other nations will die of starvation. Few of us will be aware of their plight. Peripheral vision can sometimes be blurred.
I came to know a clergyman many years ago. He was “a radical priest come to get me released” after I had been asked to leave a school board meeting. Okay, I was tossed out. We had both been there to bluster about an issue on the agenda that evening. He was there for the impact it would have on the community; I for the impact it would have on my young children. He followed me as I stormed off to my car whereby he stopped me. We stood there talking for quite a long time about this issue, life’s unfair twists, and a just a bit about my anger. He invited me to help out at his shelter for the homeless. This was the last thing I wanted to do. I had kids, a job, and not much time.
Several days later I found myself at the shelter. It was culture shock. The people there had no home, little if any family, few possessions and were The Lost. Soon I was no longer thinking of my own problems.
During the next several years of volunteering, I learned that if I thought outside of self, most problems resolved themselves. Those I was meant to resolve were done with more ease because I was not so self-centered. Anger dissipated and the world seemed larger. That was my lesson. If you can reach out to others when you are at a low ebb, your perspective on life becomes healthier.
With all the crises in our country, perhaps we need to remember that no matter how bad things seem, there are others who have so very little. Let us reach out our hands to those in third world nations and share a bit of whatever we may have so that tonight one less person will die of starvation; one less child will not know the physical pain of hunger; and one anguished cry will be stilled. In doing so, we will be fed and the wreckage of global hunger may be altered. I learned this from a wise and radical priest.
Tags: children, global hunger
While watching the morning news, I caught a segment regarding Kraft’s initiative to support America’s foodbanks. As the story detailed the various ways in which Kraft is aiming to assist, I found their aide to be both appropriate and touching.
Here is a way that we can all help…
http://brands.kraftfoods.com/sharealittlecomfort/
They will donate one box of Mac & Cheeese for each qualifying click on this site.
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Tiff,
Wow, what a great link. Thanks so much for sending this along. It just takes a little awareness and a lot of heart, doesn’t it? Great hearing from you….
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Good blog. You have a good grip on the situation but we will always have hungry people unfortunately. I doubt there is a way to keep the entire world fed, but I have to agree that if we can feed just a handful then that’s a handfull fewer people who will starve.
This is truly a sad situation and I wish I had an answer. Thanks for helping to bring this situation to the attention of at least a few people.
Mia Farrow is on a hunger strike to bring awareness to the world. I’m not sure adding another hungry person to the ranks is the best way to deal with this. Isn’t there already enough starvation?
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Your article put me in mind of a quote attributed to St. Francis of Assisi “For it is in giving that we receive”. I teach immigrant children, some from areas that are dirt poor and when I speak about some of their personal stories to my friends, I become aware of the ignorance of so many who do not assign the facts of world poverty to actual people. It is a problem. Anyway, thanks to Tiff for the link which I plan to put on my blog.
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Dear Drama Queen,
We do need to bring about awareness of this horrid hunger issue. Even if a few, as you so well said, get some help, that is just a few who will not suffer. Perhaps all we can do is to continue to raise awareness and hope for open hearts.
I saw Mia Farrow on CNN the other night. It was pitiful in some ways, but I will choose to believe that her heart is in the right place, even if her mind seems a bit goofy.
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Dear Nona,
Thanks for the apt quote. It is shocking, isn’t it, that people in general feel so removed from this hunger holocaust. You have a gift in reaching out as you do to these children and then sharing their stories. It is like planting mustard seeds. You may not see them sprout, but be sure that some seeds will reap a harvest of the heart. My best wishes to you in all you are doing.
Tiff did a great job in helping to raise awareness of this issue with her link, didn’t she? That’s the beauty of blogging. Sometimes the saints do come marching in!
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The more oppressive the government, the worse the hunger problems are.
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Harrison,
Sadly, that is absolutely true. They deny their own people and often sell-off donated foods. There are organizations which get around this so I would still urge people to select a trusted organization and to donate.
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