30 Hour Famine

So as I said before. I just did a 30 hour famine. The link is here. (twice on here so far!)
Now I didn't do this to seem "cool" or to say "Oh, I've gone 30 hours without food before." I did it because I hate seeing people, children and adults, suffer. Because I want to make a different. And I know it's what God would want me to do. And before you shut this down because I mentioned God, we had Athiests doing this also. Now this was a church sponsored event, and I feel we are being quite successful.

If you haven't checked out the site, its for feeding hungry kids (mostly in Africa but my group in feeding Afghanistanian kids). Now I know we CONSTANTLY see the commercials staring Britney Spears or whoever asking for money for these children. But saying and doing is two different things. Did you know:

1) Some families in these countries have to live on less than $1.25. One of us will spend five times that for one meal, and do it again later. These people would want to kiss our feet if we gave them five bucks.

2) There is enough food to end world hunger. The problem is getting it to the people. They can't afford to buy it, or the get the education needed to get a job and afford the food. Why can't we give it to them instead of giving it to the dog. Who's life is more important? A child that may save your life one day or an animal that may be the cause of your death..jussaying. I'll save a child before I save my kitten (no matter how much I adore the fluff ball)

3) There are more people with a cell phone, than people with a toilet. What's more important? Telling your boyfriend you love him for the hundredth time, or helping someone get the proper sanitation they need. Over in some countries, the water from their outhouse mixes in with their drinking water and they don't have what they need to purify it.  More than 1 of 4 people in Afghanistan don't have access to clean water.Yeah, still think that iPhone is more important?

4) There are 925 million people starving, globally. That's like, 3 times the U.S. population. We are throwing food out because its been in the fridge for a day or we have the taste for something different. Come on, seriously? Invite someone who can't afford a meal over to pick it up. Or go bring it to them.

5) A child dies from hunger related issues every 8-12 seconds. Yeah while I'm typing this and you are reading, a child is dying. Depressing? Yes. Horrible? Yes. Preventable? Yes. There is no age range either. He/She may be 12 or 3 years old. And even more die from diseases like malaria, diarrhea, and so on because they aren't getting the nutrition needed to build a strong immune system or to even get the cures they need because they can't afford it.

6) 1 out of 3 girls have to be married by (and sometimes younger than) 15 just so they can keep up tradition and help their families. These girls are forced to be doing stuff they have no business doing at that age. Because they can't afford a better life. Come on, how would you feel if you had to be forced into this?

7) Less food will cause a stunt in growth. Children need to grow. How can they when they aren't getting what they need to continue on?

Guys this isn't something to ignore. I think the worse part of it is, is that this DOESN'T AFFECT US. It's so easy to overlook. We all complain about something (school, nasty food, a test, blahblahblah) and the truth is that these children would LOVE to have our life. They wouldn't mind school. They'd be ecstatic to get the opportunity to take a test. We are all so spoiled and lucky, we just don't ever think about it.

After I finished the famine at 6:00 p.m. tonight, our leader and a few others bought us all pizza to celebrate our success. We felt horrible. We stopped eating because we thought "if those kids could see all of this pizza, they wouldn't know how to react. They'd love it!" Even though we ate because we needed to, we still felt bad. We are still taking money. I hate eating now. I feel bad about it when I spend 5 bucks on a burger. 5 bucks could easily feed a family, or at least one kid for a week. Seriously people, we need to grow up and look at the world around us. I'm slowing down my food intake and I'm going to do more for these families. Maybe not tomorrow, but I am. It's a difference between saying and doing, and I plan on doing. How about you?

Remember: Hunger isn't a statistic. It is someone's child, mother, father, sister, etc.

Do Something. Please.

Peace, Love, and Crafts,
-Jasmine H.