Every year, 3.1 million children die as a result of malnutrition.
Today, about 815 million people in the world don’t have enough to eat.
In America, studies show that one in six children has no hope of where their next meal will come from.
Recent studies show that a quarter of the food wasted each year could save children dying of malnutrition around the world.
This hunger pandemic is a real struggle, every year both adults and children die from hunger or inadequate nutrition. This lack of adequate nutrition primarily affects low-income families, for whom the basics of life are just a luxury.
The average low-income earner barely earns enough to keep his or her family from starving; what he or she earns is barely enough to get them through the month, which means that such a family cannot afford even the basic amenities of health care.
Children from low-income families suffer from various health problems due to unhealthy eating habits, as most of the meals they eat do not contain the necessary nutrients that help children develop strong minds and bodies. These children hardly have a normal life as they suffer from hunger most of their lives and have no hope for a better future. The lack of access to fresh food and nutritious meals causes them to eat whatever is available without paying attention to the associated health risks.
Food poisoning and foodborne illnesses tend to go undetected, especially in areas without access to good health care that can detect such illnesses immediately after a few tests. And so more and more people die as a result of unsanitary meals. Rural areas, where food is scarce, suffer from all kinds of food-borne diseases caused by the unhygienic eating habits they have adapted to their living conditions.
The families in these areas deserve all the help they can get, and therefore it is our civic responsibility to help in any way we can so that a child does not die without a chance to live a full life.
If you are wondering how you can do your part in this course, then read on.
Most of these people who die of hunger have no source of income or barely make money to buy food or warm clothing. You can help them in the following ways.
- Sponsor a feeding program: host a feeding program every week where large food rations are distributed to those in need.
- Free health care: if you can afford it, provide free full-body physicals for area children to determine what their bodies are lacking and how to replenish it.
- Food drive: round up volunteers and friends to donate canned goods, foods with a long shelf life, and some vitamins and supplements. Once you’ve donated enough, you can take it to a shelter that cares for the homeless.
- Put together care packages: Care packages contain items essential for survival, especially for families/groups of people who do not have access to such items. A care package should include the following items.
- water bottles
- snacks
- socks/blankets
- shaving kit/cream
- toothbrush/toothpaste.
- deodorant
- tissues and lip balm.
- sweaters and coats for the colder months.
Whatever you donate to people in need, it will make their lives more bearable.
So choose today to put a smile on someone’s face.