Hungry for Change – A Personal Gesture

Please help me reach my personal nutritional goal and raise $250 for Canadian Feed The Children by COMMENTING below!

UN World Food Day is October 16th, a day observed each year to raise awareness of poverty and hunger.

In 2010, 925 million people – more than the combined population of Canada, the U.S. and the European Union – were undernourished and hungry.  Most of them were children and vulnerable women.

Hunger is the world’s #1 health risk – ahead of malaria, HIV/AIDS and tuberculosis.

And it is entirely preventable.

Even in Somalia and Ethiopia, and in other Horn of Africa and sub-Saharan African countries, there is enough food to feed those who need it.  The problem is not the availability of food, it is access to it and in particular, the means to afford it.

Hunger is a resource distribution problem, and a problem that results from poverty.  It is a problem that stems, fundamentally, from inequality.  It is therefore a political issue and an issue of social justice.

Since I’ve been working for Canadian Feed The Children, I’ve been learning about hunger and malnutrition and I’ve been reminded how privileged I am.  I read and write a lot, now, about poverty and hunger especially as it affects children.  My own battle with food, one I’ve fought my whole adult life, has been cast in a different light.

In Canada (and the US), hunger and what the UN calls “undernourisment” look very different than in Africa and other developing nations.  Here, it looks like obesity.  This is because in North America, the problem is not access but the affordability of good quality food, rather than the fat- and sugar-laden crap that passes as food.  In Canada, the problem is particularly acute in more remote areas, where fruits and vegetables – if they are even available – are three and four times the price they would be in a major urban centre.

Which is not to say that children are not just plain hungry, even right here in Canada.  Here’s a paragraph I came across in a report to one of CFTC’s Canadian nutrition funders:

“On the Big River Indian Reserve in Saskatchewan, social problems including poverty, high unemployment, overcrowded and unsafe living conditions and addiction-related difficulties have left the malnourished children of Mistahi Sipiy Elementary School in a state of crisis. Many children at school will ask for food after admitting to going several days without eating because there was simply no food at home.“

Just take a moment to imagine that, and put yourself in one of those “many children”‘s places.  Hungry, anxious, alone.  Not knowing how to ask for help, or where to turn to get it — yet also proud — too proud to admit you need it.  How hungry are you as a growing six-year-old, after not eating for two days? How desperate? How scared? How sad?

Canada is ranked eighth on the UNDP’s Human Development Index.  Canada’s “Registered Indians” rank 73rd.

Aboriginal Canadians are up to five times more likely to have Type II diabetes (and many times more likely to be afflicted by tuberculosis, HIV/AIDS, fetal alcohol syndrome and many other life-threatening and life-shortening diseases).  More than half of Aboriginal Canadians — both on and off reserve — live in poverty.   One in four is a child.

Our First Nations live in nothing short of developing-world conditions.  They experience the same food insecurity problems; the same chronic malnutriton; the same sub-standard housing and in many cases, lack access to clean, safe water.  They have an analogous risk of disease and shorter life span.  Far too many go to bed hungry every night.

As U of T Professor of Aboriginal Studies, Cynthia Wesley-Esquimaux, says:  They are living in the midst of plenty and starving for want.

I’m simplifying a very complex problem, which has – as we know – many other social, political, economic and environmental inputs.  But here’s my point:

In Canada, and around the world, millions of children are malnourished because their parents cannot provide them with nutritious food. 

So, what’s my excuse?

To put my money where my mouth is (pun intended), I’m participating in CFTC’s World Food Party 2011 in a highly personal way, and I’m asking for your help.

I am committed to getting back “on the wagon” when it comes to my own eating behaviour and health while simultaneously helping the children whose stories I read, whose photographs I see, every day.

• For every pound I lose between World Food Day 2011, October 16, and my next birthday, May 16, 2012, I will be contributing a toonie towards Canadian Feed The Children’s nutrition, health, education and food security programs. When I get to my goal, that will equal $130.

• I’ll be making those pay-outs at key milestones in my weight loss journey (5%, 10%, 25%, 50%, 80% and goal attainment), and I will be contributing an extra $20 for hitting each one, for another $120.

• Therefore, when I reach my goal, CFTC will get $250 to help children.

Here’s how you can help me:

I am asking for your support to help me stay on target toward my personal nutritional goal by commenting below and setting a milestone for me.  I will be accountable to you to reach that milestone.  

As examples, you could pledge your support:

• to help me reach my 10% goal, or
• for every pound I lose by a certain date, or
• for the half-way point and end goal

You could make a new pledge after I reach each goal. You can also make a monetary pledge of your own at any point.

By pledging your support, you’ll be offering me the motivation that will help me commit to and be accountable for reaching my goal. And, you’ll have the satisfaction, too, of helping hungry children by helping me to fulfill my pledge.

How it will work:

I have set up a fundraising page.  Once you comment here, I will enroll you on my fundraising team. Your participation on a team will help CFTC reach its goal of “10,000 for change.”

I will be weighing in and reporting out every week via Facebook and this blog, plus by email to each member of my “team,” so you will be able to track my progress and see when I’m getting close to reaching the goal you set for me.  You will be able to see the contributions towards my fundraising goal, too.

On each blog post (as well as on Facebook), you’ll have the opportunity to comment.  I would value and so appreciate that support — it is what is going to keep me going.

Thank you for reading!  Thank you for considering supporting me and the thousands of children who deserve a better life and hope for tomorrow.

Please leave me a comment and set a goal for me!

THANK YOU!

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