Hunger

--1.02 billion people do not have enough food.*
--65 percent of the world's hungry live in only seven countries: India, China, the Democratic --Republic of Congo, Bangladesh, Indonesia, Pakistan and Ethiopia.
--Every six seconds a child dies because of hunger and related causes.
--One out of four children -roughly 146 million- in developing countries are underweight.
--Lack of Vitamin A kills one million infants a year.
--Iron deficiency is impairing the mental development of 40-60 percent of children in developing countries.

--In 2008, 49.1 million Americans lived in food insecure households, 32.4 million adults and 16.7 million children.**
--In 2008, 14.6% percent of households (17.1 million households) were food insecure, an increase from 11.1 percent (13.0 million households) in 2007.
--Georgia ranks fourth of the fifty states in households with food insecurity at 14.2% of all households. Mississippi, Texas, and Arkansas hold the top three positions.

These statistics are disconcerting to Lamar County High School sophomore Somer Rowe. Several months ago Somer was watching the evening news with her family when confronted with the facts of the severe, ongoing drought in East Africa. That story made an impact on her and reignited a long-held inclination to act. In a recent discussion Somer told me, "Things about Africa sit heavy with me."


Somer, fifteen-years-old, granddaughter of the late Lamar County physician George T. Henry, decided to do something to help those in need, specifically those who go to bed every night hungry.

The first step was research. A hopeless picture began to develop. Hunger has some ugly side effects aside from the obvious malnutrition and sickness. It is common for tribal wars to break out in areas severely affected. On the individual level, many young children walk the streets because families simply turn them out. There is not enough food to go around, so in East Africa children as young as ten sleep on the ground in garbage dumps or in drain pipes, eating trash and literally fighting for their lives with older bullies and even government workers who have been tasked with managing them. Many turn to sniffing glue to deal with the constant physical pain and mental anguish.

With this burden growing inside, Somer also researched organizations which try to help. There are many but eventually she decided to partner with the World Hunger Fund. This charity was formed by her church's denomination to help with those suffering hunger and its consequences in North America and around the world. Because the denomination already has nearly 10,000 career workers spread all over the globe it makes it possible for all donations to the World Hunger Fund to be used in their total for direct deployment to those in need whether in Atlanta or Nairobi; 100% of the receipts of this annual collection go to relief.

But what could she do locally to get others interested and acting? Somer talked with her pastor and they came up with a plan to host a World Hunger dinner. Sounds ironic until the details emerge. Most Wednesday nights the First Baptist Church hosts an evening dinner at 5:45pm allowing busy families to eat together and still participate in various church activities on campus. The plan developed that for World Hunger night the regular menu would be replaced by a simple meal of rice and beans. However, diners would still pay the normal meal price and the profit made would be donated to the World Hunger Fund.


In order to further illustrate the discrepancy between those who have and those who don't, the dinner had a special twist. One out of every ten people in line would receive a "normal American meal." The stark contrast in the two plates side by side would really help people understand the gap between rich and poor in the world. So while most people plowed through their bowl of basics a few fortunate enjoyed a plate of chicken, pasta, beans, bread and cheesecake.


For the special dinner held February 24th, Rita Kinney, Food Services Director at First Baptist, prepared rice and beans for 150 folks and a further 12-15 "normal plates." She said that the price to feed the 150 was $45 while the price for the 15 regular plates was $50 to $60. Doing the math the benefit could raise at least $720 for the World Hunger Fund based on meal prices of $5 each. Without the one-every-ten-special-plates the profit would have been closer to $800 but educating the diners was a major part of the push. Just as Somer's vision started with the confrontation by facts and research, others in the community needed to be made aware of the needs around them and around the world.

"A lot of people are quite happy to ignore the hungry. A lot of people are quite happy to sit there and not think about it," Somer told me. When I asked if this issue was important among her friends, the teens of Lamar County, she replied, "Not really on the whole. Maybe [to] a couple." When I inquired what people can do every day to help the hungry she suggested, "When shopping, avoid frivolous purchases. If you have a job, save money for special needs offerings."

In addition to the profit from the dinner plates, those in attendance were also able to donate larger amounts to the Fund, raising the offering even higher. Children were included and each was given a small "piggy bank" in the shape of a loaf of bread in order to collect change for the hungry. Altogether these gifts will be compiled and sent in for distribution in the near future. While these efforts on the local level may seem modest, when combined with national gifts the effects are significant. In 2008 the World Hunger Fund provided 5 million meals to the hungry in North America.***

So what's next for Somer? She said, "I hate to feel useless and it's nice to be able to do something." In the future she still imagines helping Africans more directly. "I've always felt strong about Africa and I want to help." Children have a special place in her heart and she may explore ways to work with kids. Like many teens it is not obvious to observers if she has concrete plans yet. When I asked what she thought she could do to prepare for her future she flashed a glance at her dad, smiled back at me, and quipped, "I haven't thought about it yet." Something tells me there may be more in her heart than she's willing to share at this point. We can't wait to see the impact she will have for good in our world and in our community in Lamar County.

*World hunger statistics are quoted from the United Nations World Food Programme.
**U.S. and Georgia hunger statistics are quoted from Feeding America, the top charity in the States focusing on domestic hunger.
***Statistic quoted from the World Hunger Fund.