Video: Tell Others: A 7 Billionth Child - 1 In 7 Chance Of Being Hungry

Video: Tell Others: A 7 Billionth Child - 1 In 7 Chance Of Being Hungry

This year we welcome a seven billionth person into the world knowing that there is one in seven chance that person will be born into hunger. Nearly a billion people in the world go to bed hungry each night. Yet there are more than twice as many people online. You are one of them. Just think what we could achieve if all two billion of us came together to take a stand against hunger.


http://www.wfp.org/videos/7-billionth-child-1-7-chance-being-hungry


Hungry Planet: Episode 9

http://www.wfp.org/videos/hungry-planet-9

URGENT: “Save Somali Children From Hunger” - CIRCULATE TO EVERYONE

You may have heard about the millions of people in Somalia on the brink of starvation. U.S. officials estimate that the famine in this east African country has killed 29,000 children between May and
July, 2011. Over 12 million people in the region have been affected by the famine.


Because of a long-running drought and difficulty in getting food donations to the people, it is predicted that many more will die. Thousands have fled to refugee camps in Kenya. Stories have surfaced that supplies are  being stolen and sold on the black market by war lords and rival tribes.


One 11-year-old boy in Ghana, a west African country, decided to help out. Andrew Adansi-Bonnah was inspired by images of skeletal babies and stick-thin children he saw on television. So, during his eight-week school holiday in the summer of 2011, Andrew started the Save Somali Children from Hunger Project.


When Andrew was interviewed, the small, soft-spoken boy stated that “There are hungry people in Ghana but our situation is not as desperate as the people of Somalia. . . .I want to help them to get
food, water, medicine and clothes. I want them to get their education back.”


Andrew walked office-to-office in Accra, the capital of Ghana collecting donations and set up a bank account for his campaign. He has received advice from the United Nations Children’s Fund and
World Food Program. Andrew’s goal is to raise 20 million Ghanaian cedis (about $13 million in U.S. currency).


“This is a moment  that mankind can touch lives,” he said. “There is no point for others to have so much to eat while others have nothing to eat. It is not right.“


Andrew, you have our support and encouragement to continue with your goal to help others. You will be a great leader some day.


For more about the famine and devastating conditions in Somalia, check out the infographic below:

http://www.askthejudge.info/save-somali-children-from-hunger/10941/


http://www.askthejudge.info/save-somali-children-from-hunger/10941/


http://thewe.cc/weplanet/news/children/hunger_children_dying.htm

Please Circulate this news to Everyone...Save Humanity...

One Dies, Million Cry..Million Die, No One Cries

Steve Jobs was amazing. He was an inspiration. The change-maker of the 21st century right alongside Albert Einstein.. the “Apple” he founded was just as important to modern society as the apple that made Isaac Newton understand the laws of gravity. You dont need to have owned an Ipod, Iphone, Ipad or Mac to be inspired by him and the world is right about weeping about the loss of this radical thinker, innovator and genius..

But in a familiar landscape, FIVE people are dying every second. 30,000 children have died in the past three months. This is NOT by an atom bomb or a super-bug as in the wildly popular movie- Contagion.. Its by FAMINE..the F- Word that is an insult to humanity since the world was more than capable of feeding every single man, woman and child who had died in the past few months.

The UN says tens of thousands of people have died after what is said to be East Africa’s worst drought for 60 years. It has officially declared SIX famine zones – mostly in parts of southern Somalia controlled by the Islamist al-Shabab.

Some 12 million people across the region need food aid.  The rate of malnutrition [among children] in Bay region is 58%. This is a record rate of acute malnutrition and is almost double the rate at which a famine is declared. According to the UN’s Food Security and Nutrition Analysis Unit (FSNAU) 4 million people are in crisis in Somalia, with 750,000 people at risk of death in the coming four months in the absence of adequate response. Half of those who have already died are children.

Neighboring Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Kenya and Uganda have also been affected by the severe lack of rain. The cause- global warming.. But its pointless to talk of the cause now.

The UN has estimated that $2.5bn in aid is needed for the humanitarian response to the ongoing crisis in the Horn of Africa. As of 10 October, the funding shortfall stands at $615m.

So, Changemaker, can we do anything about it? Maybe we’ll never raise $2.5 billion, but we CAN raise awareness and do what we do best to help out Africa. As Africa’s jewel, our beloved  Wangari Maathai showed from  her story of the hummingbird trying to save the burning forest, we should do the best we can..

Some suggestions as to what we can do are small community based donation programmes. Its extremely easy to donate to the UN food programme and every cent will count. Also, most countries throw away tons of food due to over stocking that end up in land fills. That food can save lives. For most of us, its hard to even miss a meal so just imagine how painful and unfortunate a person has to be to die of hunger? No one deserves that..

Others will follow. Lets show the world what Changemakers can do together in the worst Famine in recorded History. 

BE THE CHANGE YOU WANT TO SEE

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dBlnRUdX22Q&noredirect=1

Sign this Petition: Famine in Somalia - Hungry No More

Dear World Leaders,


The famine in Somalia could kill 750,000 in the coming months, and tens of thousands have already died. When you meet at the Group of 20 (G20) Summit in November, you have the opportunity to break the cycle of famine and ensure people are hungry no more. Lives are in your hands. Please keep the promises you have made to the 2 billion poor people who depend on farming for their livelihoods.


Drought may be an act of nature, but famine is not.  The current crisis in the Horn of Africa is a man-made disaster that could have been avoided. But we don't have the necessary political will to stop the starving – and its causes. As a consequence, millions are affected and tens of thousands of children have died.

Communities in Africa can cope with droughts and natural disasters. But we need leaders to invest in early warning systems and safety net programmes to help people become resilient to these hazards. And we need donors to put resources toward better seeds, irrigation and sustainable farming education. By acting now, we can help 200 million people from poor farming families grow more food and raise their incomes.

Leaders of the wealthiest countries met in 2009, and committed to provide $22 billion for agriculture and hunger. They will meet again in early November. Please call on them to keep their promises to ensure people are hungry no more.


http://act.one.org/sign/hungry_no_more/?referring_akid=.5604556.U3Iptr


Save Humanity

UN DECLARES FAMINE IN PARTS OF SOMALIA AS DANGEROUS CONDITIONS REACH CATASTROPHIC LEVELS

UN DECLARES FAMINE IN PARTS OF SOMALIA AS DANGEROUS CONDITIONS REACH CATASTROPHIC LEVELS

சோமாலியா கவிதை - முபாரக் ரஸ்வி

சோமாலியா கவிதை - முபாரக் ரஸ்வி

Famine in Somalia: It's not a natural disaster : It's murder

THE FAMINE in Somalia has once again focussed attention on the problems of the less developed countries. Much of the response to the crisis is a short term one in the form of food aid. However in order to understand the causes of this and other famines in Africa it is necessary to race back the roots of the problem to colonisation and imperialism. It is necessary to focus on the political economic and social policies pursued in post-colonial times which perpetuate recurring famine and crisis. The role of the World Bank and the International Monetary Fund are crucial in understanding what is really happening.

Most of the misery and famine which is unfolding in Africa today has its roots in imperialism, in the colonisation of African countries by European armies and business interests. Before the invasions the peoples of Africa were primarily subsistence farmers, hunters or traders; though there were also some highly developed civilisations that have been written out of the history books. It is true that in the past there were droughts but vast numbers of people did not starve.

There are two main reasons for this, firstly African agriculture was much more diverse than it is now. People planted a variety of crops so that if one failed others which were more drought-resistant survived. Today most of the land is given over to growing cash crops for export to pay off crippling debts to Western banks. The second reason why droughts were not so devastating was because forests were far more extensive than they are now. Forests tend to stabilise rainfall patterns and also minimise the damage caused by floods in the rainy season.

Imperialism smashed the traditional African cycle of agriculture by demanding that Africans pay taxes in cash. This meant growing crops for sale on national and international markets.
The 2Oth century has seen a huge expansion in the acreage devoted to growing cash crops such as tea, coffee, cotton, rubber, cocoa, and ground nuts. Today much of the most fertile land in Africa is growing cash crops. Half of the food growing land in Senegal is growing peanuts for western margarine firms. Cash crops involve intensive cultivation and the extensive use of fertilisers which has led to land degradation, an increase in desert areas and the poisoning of the water table. The bulk of external debt in Africa is owed to Western governments.

Slavery and the damage it did to Africa is a significant factor in the underdevelopment and poverty which is never acknowledged by Western countries. Between 1701 and 1810 more than six million Africans were transported to the Americas to provide free labour for large farmers and businessmen. This haemorrhage of young men and women crippled African society.

External debt and falling commodity prices have had a crippling impact on African economies during the past decade. In the 1970s Western banks encouraged many less developed countries to borrow heavily. This borrowing, supposedly for roads and irrigation projects and so on was often siphoned off for personal use by dictators or wasted on useless projects or on arms. The money was borrowed at low interest rates. Interest rates jumped from 6% to 18% in a few years, dramatically increasing the debts. In 1990 African debt was double what it was in 1980.
African countries were forced to call in the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to seek a way out of their problems. However the 'solutions' of the I.M.F. have been to impose draconian and brutal cutbacks in health and education, and the abolition of food subsidies. This is a capitalist solution to a problem caused by capitalism in the first place. Famine, desperate poverty and the complete absence of health and education services are the result for millions of Africans.

Currency devaluations and cuts in public spending have led to massive unemployment. The export-oriented growth insisted on by the I.M.F. means an increase in cash crops and a consequent fall in food production. People in Africa are condemned to go hungry while the best land is used to grow tobacco, cotton, flowers, tea and coffee for the U.S., Europe and Japan

Very pathetic efforts were made under the Toronto Accord 1988 (an agreement signed by creditor governments after appeals from debtor countries) to alleviate the worst impact of this debt. Only seventeen countries were eligible under this agreement and the savings were minimal anyway. It is worth noting that even if the terms of a subsequent agreement, the Trinidad Agreement, had been extended to all debtor countries, which it was not because most creditor countries would not agree, debtor countries would still be spending one third of their export earnings on debt repayments.

External debt is the huge millstone on many poor African countries. The Irish Mozambique Solidarity Group estimate is that there is a net transfer of US$30 million every day from the debtor countries to the West. In 1989 Richard Jolly, deputy director of UNICEF, estimated that at least 500,000 people died that year as a direct result of such debt.

Overpopulation is sometimes put across as a cause of famine. It is clear from the above analysis that overpopulation is not really a factor at all. Health services, which include contraception and abortion services, are certainly needed in Africa, not as a solution to famine but as part of the health and education services which are almost totally lacking. To argue that overpopulation is the cause of famine is not only to overlook all the historical factors but it is also seeks to blame the people of Africa themselves.

It is obvious that imperialism and capitalism, particularly the activities of the World Bank and the IMF are the causes of famine. A final point on overpopulation - it is a fact that the poorest countries have the largest number of children per family due to a combination of social and economic factors and conversely the richest countries have the smallest number of children per family. High standards of living, good health and education services all contribute to a low rate of population growth.

Finally a word about aid. By U.N. estimates it will take well over half a million tons of food to provide for Somalia alone over the next year. Yet only 30,000 tons of food monthly are being sent from donor countries. Worse still, other African countries under serious threat of mass starvation - such as southern Sudan - are being ignored because they are not yet in the news. Under capitalism food is used as a weapon and not as a resource to be equitably distributed. Until this corrupt system is replaced by a system, anarchism, which puts production and distribution for need before production for profit and power, people will continue to starve in Africa while the EC bosses worry about ways to dispose of their food mountains.

Patricia McCarthy

http://struggle.ws/ws92/famine37.html


http://www.theatlantic.com/infocus/2011/07/famine-in-east-africa/100115/