1) Throwing money at the problem doesn't always solve the problem. Some organizations are not trustworthy or are not successful in their efforts to help. Also, local governments in areas such as Africa, Latin America, and Asia may not cooperate or be honest in using money given them to help their people. It is important that trustworthy organizations who thoroughly understand the problem and know how to solve it are involved. If you want to donate, look for an organization like this. A couple that I know of are Heifer International and Koins for Kenya, but I'm sure there are others.
2) So, once an organization understands the problem, has raised enough funds, and is in the area where the want to help, what should they do? Here's what I think:
- They need to empower the people to want to be helped and to be excited about the changes that are going to be made in their lives. If the people are not excited, no lasting change will happen.
- They need to teach the people new skills, such as gardening, farming, raising animals, etc. Giving them food only lasts a few days or so, but teaching them how to grow food for themselves that will meet their nutritional needs can last for generations.
- They need to educate the people on how to increase their income so as to be able to afford more high energy foods. This can be done by raising chickens for eggs or cows for milk. These commodities are worth a lot in third world countries.
- Lastly, the people need to understand that by eating a more diverse, healthy diet will improve their lives. They will have more energy, be less prone to infection, have better cognitive function, and live longer.
Every 5 seconds a child dies of hunger. I hope that we who are very fortunate to live in such a wealthy country will do more to help those who, by no fault of their own, live on no more than about 2-3 cups of food each day. It's worth at least thinking about.
-Kamie
