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by Leah Cheney Celebrating the Arts: In Honor of World Hunger Education An excerpt from Newsweek This Week, NEWSWEEK Education Programs I am just one child in an enormous world.I am a child who once believed that world hunger existed because there wasn't enough food or money to feed the world's population. It wasn't long before I learned of my ignorance. I am a child shocked to know how big an issue this is in our country as well as in the rest of the world. I am a child angry and frustrated that 34,000 children die every day in the world of hunger and hunger-related diseases. I find it strange that I am a child who lives in a world that chooses to ignore this statistic. We never hear about the children who die of hunger, but our society spends months glued in front of television sets watching the murder trial involving a celebrity. I have a vision of a world that will protect its people. A world where discrimination, racism, poverty, and hunger do not exist. A world where all human beings have the right to have their basic needs met. A world that provides shelter, food, clean water, medicine, and clothing for all. A world where all people matter. I have a vision of being able to occupy every TV station across the country to tell a true story to every man, woman, and child. I would tell them about a land called the United States whose government spent $14.5 billion in 1993 on foreign aid that did not go to support any of the neediest countries. How only 10 percent of that money went to purchase basic commodities like wheat and maize for starving refugees and victims of famine. I would tell them that the United States chose to invest 24 percent of foreign aid money in the military. I would tell them about a world where one quarter of the homeless work full, or parttime and are forced to choose between food and shelter. A world where 45 percent of the homeless are single men and nearly half are high-school graduates. I would tell of the African children who lose their eyesight due to a lack of vitamin A. I would tell the people about the refugee camps that ration food to families. But that wouldn't be the end of my story. I would tell them about the priorities that are established in the world which allow twenty-seven children to die every minute for want of essential food and inexpensive vaccines. A world that tolerates a military machine spending $1.9 billion every day. A world in which 371 billionaires control half the world wealth while more than one billion people try to survive on the equivalent of one dollar a day. I have a vision of a world that will protect its people. I have a vision that my children will someday tell this same story, only it will begin with the phrase "Once upon a time." I am a child making a difference. I am a child who has serviced local elementary schools. I am a child who helped provide Christmas for a needy family. I am a child who helped feed the poor. I am strongwilled. I am the power of one. I am the future unfolding. With permission of Larry Levine, Founder of Kids Make A Difference (KIDS) World Food Day (Oct. 16) World Food Day is celebrated every year on Oct. 16 to commemorate the founding of the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) in 1945. World Food Day aims to heighten public awareness of the plight of the worldıs hungry and malnourished and to encourage people worldwide to take action against hunger. More than 150 countries observe this event every year. In the United States, 450 national, private voluntary organizations sponsor World Food Day, and local groups are active in almost every community. First observed in 1981, each year World Food Day highlights a particular theme upon which to focus activities. The theme for 2000 is "A Millennium Free from Hunger." Themes from the last two years are "Youth Against Hunger" (1999) and "Women Feed the World" (1998). A new global coalition called Feeding Minds, Fighting Hunger has developed lesson plans for World Food Day 2000. These lessons are available for primary-, intermediate- and secondary-level students. On Oct. 16, students all over the world will be using these lessons to gain a better understanding of world hunger and malnutrition. Lessons cover the topics of "What is hunger and malnutrition?" "Who are the hungry?" "Why are people hungry and malnourished?" and "What can we do to help end hunger?" These lessons can be accessed on the FAQ web site at www.fao.org. Kids Can Make A Difference ® (KIDS) Kids Can Make A Difference (KIDS) ®, a program of World Hunger Year, is an innovative educational program for middle-school and high-school students. It helps them understand the root causes of hunger and poverty, and how they can take action. The program includes the Finding Solutions to Hunger: Kids Can Make A Difference ® teacher guide; a web site (www.kidscanmakeadifference.org), and a newsletter that highlights current hunger issues, showcases student initiatives, and features teachers' experiences teaching about hunger. Contact KIDS at kids@kidscanmakeadifference.org or 207-439-9588 for further information about the program and teacher guide. |
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