Every five seconds, another child dies from hunger-related causes.
OK, I know what you're thinking. Um, what blog is this? Did I stumble onto some other site by mistake? WHERE'S THE SHALLOW?
Don't worry. I'm still VERY shallow. (PROOF: I'm sitting here writing a post about world hunger while eating a stack of double-stuffed oreos. See? Hypocritical AND gluttonous. I'm actually waiting for lightning to strike me dead any minute now.)
Whenever I read sentences like that top one, I feel a strong urge to look away, probably because as I might have mentioned before (maybe, perhaps) I am (say it with me) shallow.
Sentences like that make me uncomfortable - as they should. I want to click away, turn the page, find something more lighthearted to read to use as brain bleach. I don't want to think about those kinds of things. I don't want to know statistics like that.
It's not that I'm uninformed. I listen to NPR. I read multiple newspapers. I know what's going on in the world. But I don't want to hear what it all boils down to in terms of dying children.
I don't know what I'm supposed to do with those kinds of facts. I'm helpless in the face of the enormity of the problem. I know I can't change world economics. I know I can't change the way food markets work. It seems pointless to try to change anything, so I do nothing at all. I sit back and eat my oreos and think about other things.
Sometimes I rationalize it, thinking, oh, I don't need to worry about it. God will take care of it. And then I eventually realize that God's plan for taking care of things might involve a whole lot of people like me, finally getting tired of sitting around doing nothing.
So this month I'm going to do something. I'm not going to solve the crisis. I'm not going to work huge miracles. But I AM going to try to make a difference in the life of one child. One person helping one child.
This month, we're going to eat oatmeal for a couple of meals and use the money we would have spent on food to sponsor a child through a legitimate charity.
Compassion International has set aside June 25 as a day of fasting and prayer to help combat global hunger. You can read about it here. Even if you aren't religious, you can skip a few meals and donate the money to help fight global hunger. You can sponsor a child. You can learn more. You can do something.
While you read this, four children died.
That's a number even us shallow types can understand.
Tuesday, June 24, 2008
Uncomfortable Stuff
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38 comments:
Hey! Rocks in My Dryer convinced me to sponsor kids, too. (I saw your comment over there today, by the way - please don't quit blogging, you don't have to comment everywhere.) We have 2 girls right now, and it's great for making the kids understand where some of the tithe money is going to.
Love this post. Thank you. Can I add something? For people who don't have enough money to sponsor a child, it's amazing what a difference a few cans at the local food bank or even $5 to a local charity (or a church's humanitarian fund) can make. Economies in other countries are so vastly different than ours a little will go a long way.
(I know it doesn't take a lot to sponsor a child, I just know there are some months for some people when you're doing well to get food on your own table. I'm all about doing what you can do.)
We sponsor two kiddos through Compassion (not tooting my horn, making a point) We DO NOT have a lot of money. Like, sometimes we get nervous about being able to pay the bills and eat. But anyway, my point is that we don't notice the money is gone, comes straight from our account and goes where it should without feeling the effect. God's cool like that.
Sometimes we think that we have to send our money across the country to help others- we have been visiting a refugee family that live just a few blocks away- and basically are struggling to have food on their table. It has made the biggest impact on my life and more importantly my children's lives.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland Said;
"They are everywhere, on our right hand and on our left, in our neighborhoods and in the workplace, in every community and county and nation of this world" If we search around us- we will find them.
Thanks for addressing the Uncomfortable. I'm going to do this too.
It is very sad to realize that one of our worst national health problems is obesity, when our local food banks need food and people all over the world are starving. A regular day of fasting and giving should be a blessing to all of us.
One thing that bugs me is when mormons refuse to contribute to anyone but the church. The church supports the United Way and other charities precisely because they know we can't be all things to all people, although we certainly try to help where we can with things like humanitarian aid and PEF and diseaster relief.
Thanks for pointing out that we can contribute to non-LDS charities. We can. We should. Gordon B. Hinckley said we should be good citizens of the world. WE SHOULD.
I like what the first anonymous said about hunger being local too. With the rise in food prices, people everywhere are going to be hurting.
I think it doesn't matter if we do it locally or internationally, as long as we actually choose to do something. Thanks for reminding me not to just ignore it and to pick something to do and do it.
Thank you for posting this. I know you like to play like you're shallow (and I love that!) but this is just an awesome post. We sponsor a beautiful girl from Bolivia through Compassion. Our girls call her their sister. It's good for me to realize that even when we are struggling financially, it is nothing compared to being hungry or not affording school for our babies.
You've all made some really good points.
I wanted to point out - I always wonder which charities are legit, so I go to Charity Navigator to check them out before I donate.
It's independent and it gives you information that helps you to decide which charities are trustworthy and fiscally responsible, and which ones are just using the money you donate to pay staff salaries.
They give Compassion International four out of four stars. Eight-three percent of funds donated go directly for program expenses. 8% go back into fundraising (an essential need for a charity like this one, obviously), and only 7% of donated funds go to admin. That's pretty good.
Thanks Sue, everyone needs a little reminder now and then. Especially us shallow types!
I think it's kind of telling that you've gotten relatively few comments on this post, other than from anonmyous people who don't want to leave their names. (Says the anonymous person, who isn't leaving her name either.)
You are right, people don't like to read or think about uncomfortable things. In fact, I'll bet most of them don't even visit your blog today. They'll probably read you in a feed reader and then click away.
Great post, Sue! I'm going to talk to Neil about this tonight. Emma's old enough to understand making a difference like this. It's time to teach her this lesson, I think.
Even if I'm shallow, it doesn't mean my kids have to be, right?
Found your blog through Rocks in My Dryer comments. Glad I stopped by.
Even helping ONE person can make a difference. We sponsor a child too, and she has truly touched our life.
I worked on childhood hunger issues for the majority of my career before I retired to have kids. I was often overwhelmed by the magnitude of the problem and also how bad the problem is RIGHT HERE in the old US of A. I directed a childhood hunger study in Texas in 1991 and the results said that three out of four children from low-income families were either hungry or in danger of hunger. (It was a statistically valid survey instrument used nationally.) So, yeah, local food banks are a great place to start. But also, the biggest help is realizing that you feed kids one kid at a time, one meal at a time. So, you're way ahead there, friend.
Hey! Great Post! Also, another legitimate organization is www.risingstaroutreach.org. It was started by my seminary teacher, Becky Douglas, years ago after the death of her daughter. It helps those children struggling with leoprosy in India. Bill Marriott has donated a housing dorm for the school as well. I sponser there and pay $30/month. It is a great, legitimate organization and I can personally vouch for the legitimacy of the organization.
Thanks for this post. I have been hearing a lot about Compassion through Rocks in my Dryer, and now that I see it here, too, I'm going to have to look it up. I love the idea of fasting for a day and using that money to feed those who are hungry... I will be doing this. Thanks for the inspiration.
Compassion Intl. sounds like such a wonderful organization. Thanks for the reminder that us (sometimes shallow) people need to do something to help the people who need it the most.
It is my first time at your blog. I came over from your comment at Rocks in My Dryer. (I really appreciated your comment, btw.)
Anyways, this post was great and I believe we will be sponsoring a child shortly.
That post is pretty deep for someone so shallow.
Thanks for the reminder, and the comments on this one were equally motivating. I'm ashamed to realize how often I view food as the enemy when so many people are hungry for legitimate reasons. Our efforts might be small, but they're big to someone else and every so worth it.
We all need to remember. Thanks for reminding.
My parents just returned from serving a mission in Liberia, Africa. I have had the opportunity to travel to Haiti to orphanages. There is such a great need all over the world and most of us are beyond blessed and can certainly do at least a little more. I know that I am working on it. Thanks for the post:)
Again, you are so incredibly awesome. Thanks for helping us NOT look away from starvation.
angelawd
Thanks for posting this.
I won't fast because I know that just leads to large-scale oreo-inhaling the minute I stop, but there is so much merit to being more aware of the rest of the world.
I have been trying to put some of my economic stimulus money toward good causes; perhaps a food organization is in order for tomorrow.
This is totally unrelated to your current post, but I'll do it anyway. I'm new to your blog but totally connected with your attitude of meeting new people in a new city. I'm embarking on a new adventure to England and although I know in the back of my mind that I will make friends, I'm so not looking forward to starting over again. So thanks, you made my night.
With everything getting so expensive, it's harder and harder to feel able to give, but it truly is so important, and so rewarding, to give whenever possible. Especially when it involves children. Thank you for taking the issue off the back burner!
We sponsor a child through Plan International/Childreach. It's $30 a month, which is only 1% of our income. It's non-negotiable. Even when we don't have a lot of money, it's part of our budget. We give to other charities when we can, but that's the one constant that I can keep in my heart.
Thanks for this post.
Just a comment to clarify the post by "anonymous" about Mormons. Although I also donate to other charities, I feel most confident giving to the LDS Humanitarian Services and to the Fast Offering fund because I know, first of all, that 100% of those funds will go to help those in need with nothing set aside for administration. Secondly, the LDS Church helps on global levels people in need regardless of their religious affiliation, and LDS Humanitarian aid is often first on the scene at national and international disasters, and many of the provisions distributed by the Red Cross actually come from the LDS Welfare storehouses all over the world. Most LDS congregations that I have experienced participate willingly in food drives for local food banks. Sometimes I think that people outside the LDS Church have the mistaken impression that we only "help our own." When I lived in Las Vegas I knew of and participated in congregations that spent time regularly helping provide, cook and serve food at the homeless shelters, including those sponsored by the Catholic Church. The Las Vegas LDS Deseret Industries outfitted the same shelters with new mattresses and linens for all of their beds. These activities are usually done with no desire for recognition, and therefore most people don't realize the extent of what the LDS Church does. If you are ever in the Salt Lake area, take a tour of the Humanitarian Services building, and you will gain a whole new appreciation for what is being done world wide to find long-term solutions to world hunger and poverty.
This reminds me of an episode of "Samantha Who" where the Christina Applegate character's friend hooked up with her boss. When she and the boss guy were making out, the other friend just couldn't stop grimacing. Christina Applegate turned her around and said "If you don't look at it, it's not happening." "Oh, like poverty."
I have sent compassion money to use "where most needed" but I haven't sponsored a child. Maybe when my house sells....I know, it's an excuse, but it's all I've got right now.
Thanks, Sue. I think we all need to be reminded that the people we hear about on the news are real people- real women, real mean, real children- not just statistics or pictures and that we really can do SOMETHING to help, if only in a small way.
That's inspiring. I'll have to read those links and find out more about this. Thank you for sharing this.
I think the first Anonymous poster made a pretty big assumption about Mormons "refusing" to give to any charity than the church. I'm LDS and give to lots of different charities, and I doubt I'm the only one. I do agree that the Church does a great job when you donate through it, though.
One thing that IS statistically proven: Red states give LOTS more to all kinds of charities than blue states do -- I guess the liberal theory is that government should take care of people, so lots of liberals don't give to private charities, while conservatives feel differently, AND put their money where their mouths are.
(I just did a quick Google for some stats to back up my claim -- here's the first hit on the list):
Anyway, Sue, thanks for the heads-up on what sounds like a great charity, and for willing to broach a heavy topic.
I really really meant to make that last post anonymously (b/c I like to keep my giving, or talking about giving, as anonymous as possible.) Well, at least no one's very likely to read a late comment on a day's-old post.
And even less-so a weeks-old post (hello, I'm Zina and my brain does not function properly.)
wow. you TOTALLY beat PW to the punch on this one! she's just mentioning Compassion this week...and here you were MONTHS ago.
and yes, I know I said i was headed to bed hours ago. yet here i am. still.
and now you're moving back into your house. see, i'm ingesting your entire life in one night. it's like an emotional roller coaster. losing the house. saying goodbye. that big Girls Night Out dinner they had for you (how many amazing friends does one woman need? cause I could use some ITF* friends about now.) and then to get the happy news that you can keep it! i'm not sure I can handle the shift in endorphins that your posts are generating from page to page.
*In The Flesh
♥
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