“If you cannot feed a hundred people, then feed just one.”
– Mother Teresa
Hunger is a main consequence of poverty. Unfortunately, extreme hunger and malnutrition remain huge barriers to development in many countries. Around the world, more than enough food is produced to feed the global population—but more than 821 million people still go hungry. Over 90 million children under five are dangerously underweight. Estimates suggest that an additional 83 million to 132 million more people will be chronically hungry due to the COVID-19 pandemic. The hunger rate is much higher in Africa and Southern Asian countries. The world is not on the track to achieve the SDG (Sustainable Development Goal) of Zero Hunger by 2030.
Source: https://www.globalhungerindex.org/ranking.html
In this pandemic, everyone wants to contribute to the community but most of us stop ourselves at
- I am just an individual, so what can I do?
- I am just a drop in the ocean, so will my contribution make an impact?
In today’s world, every individual has more power than ever before to influence, motivate, transform, innovate, and achieve anything. Individuals are the ones who form communities, create organizations, and who build the future of the world. So, all we need is one scoop of interest to serve the people around us and one peg of dedication to do it regularly.
How can we help as an individual?
- We can offer a meal to one underprivileged family who is living in our neighborhood or nearby area to us once a week or month.
- If we are living in a gated community/society/venture/apartment, then we can motivate others to donate a meal from every family on the pre-determined day every week or month and one person from the entire community can take the responsibility of collecting all these meals and distribute them to the needy on a rolling basis.
- We can celebrate our special moments like birthdays, anniversaries, promotions, etc. by feeding the hungry in our areas. It will be fun and guarantee us 100% satisfaction than celebrating in any other way.
These are seemed to be very simple but very effective in the long run from the contributions from everyone. We no need to neither compromise on our personal life to address the problems around us nor be part of a non-profit organization to bring change in society. So, start with baby steps and feel proud to be part of the journey to the world of ZERO HUNGER. Age, gender, location, religion, income, occupation, etc. will never be the hinders to join in this journey. Remember that every step of ours matters to reach the destination.
“We ourselves feel that what we are doing is just a drop in the ocean. But the ocean would be less because of that missing drop.”
– Mother Teresa
