Play this video as you view this page. PLEASE PRETTY PLEASE!
James 1:27
Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.
Matthew 6:1-4
Be careful not to do your 'acts of righteousness' before men, to be seen by them. If you do, you will have no reward from your Father in heaven "So when you give to the needy, do not announce it with trumpets, as the hypocrites do in the synagogues and on the streets, to be honored by men. I tell you the truth, they have received their reward in full. But when you give to the needy, do not let your left hand know what your right hand is doing, so that your giving may be in secret. Then your Father, who sees what is done in secret, will reward you.
Ask a person what they know of hunger. Seriously. I'd like you to randomly ask a person what they know about hunger.
If you're like me, you know that 90% of the people you ask will get mad at you as they walk off texting, drinking their coffee, or smoking a cig.
So, ask a coworker. Ask a friend. Ask your neighbor.
Ask yourself.
Most people will say,
1. Lots of people die from hunger. Then they'll make up a ridiculous number just to make themselves feel smart. I've heard billions, trillions, millions, thousands, and even.... don don don doooooon: a bunch!
2. Being hungry doesn't feel good.
(Course not! Everyone knows that.)
3. Being hungry makes your stomach growl. EERRRR FEED ME!!!!
4. The only hungry nation is Africa. No doubt, someone literally told me that.
5. There is a thing called the hunger strike. (after i heard that, stopped taking questions)
I asked a college class of about 25 students and these were some of the answers I received before I gave up and shot them.
Before I did my research of hunger I knew that it doesn't target Africa alone. I had my own reasons why america would want you to think that but we'll get into that later.
I knew that every time you blink someone blinked their last because of starvation.
I also knew the difference between STARVATION and HUNGER!!! (not just the spelling.)
THIS is starvation
THIS is hunger.
The difference should be clear even if one is just a drawing. Hungry is "Man i'd like to have a banana... or maybe a peach, naw I have the taste for a chicken. Hmmmmmmmmmmm.... chicken." Thats hungry.
Starving is "Man I'd like to have anything. Anything I can put in my mouth just to make it stop hurting. Just to make me survive. I'd eat that bug if I could catch it." That's starving. Are you fricking starving jerkface?
ANYWAY! I also knew that hungry first, then starving, then death. You don't just get starving! I hate when people say "Man i'm starving." Makes me wanna say, "Man you're an idiot."
This guy is starving.
This guys an idiot
Starving:
Idiot:
Starving:
Idiot:
Sta-- you get my drift... unless of course you're one of those people that thinks you're starving. Then you might not get it.
I also knew that starvation and emaciation kinda can't live without each other. only in rare cases. If you're 400 pounds and you starve to death i doubt you'll get emaciated first. Gonna be tough getting you're huge behind outta that house after you die. i know that!
anywho.
i could go on but the stuff i "knew" was mostly ........ incorrect! That is why i figured I'd research! Hey I had only been told most things I knew about hunger. For example. I knew that hunger was EVERYWHERE but I did not know that ALL of Africa was not HUNGRY. SHOCKER!!!! I KNOW!!!!
Hmmmm....
"The Vietnamese Famine of 1945A famine that occurred in northern Vietnam, during the Japanese occupation of the country from October 1944 to May 1945, and for approximately three years after. Between 400,000 and 2 million people are estimated to have starved to death during this time.
China's Three Years of Natural Disasters
The famine that refers to the period in the People's Republic of China between 1959 and 1961, in which natural disasters caused widespread famine. "Three Bitter Years" is used by Chinese officials to describe this period. Li Chengrui, a former minister of the National Bureau of Statistics of China, estimated 22 million (1998)
Bangladesh famine of 1974: Over a million people died in the Bangladesh famine from July 1974 to January 1975."
1959-1961The "Great Leap Famine" cost an estimated 20 million to 40 million lives in China as the policies of Mao Zedong resulted in massive social and economic upheaval. China was also hit by major famines in 1941-1942.
The above child is 9 years old and weighs 17 lbs. The average weight of a baby about 1year old in America.
These children are not starving in Africa.
Seeeeeeee not just Africa.
Guess where I want to go on vacation! Come on! Guess! Okay okay. I'll give you a hint.
Noooooooooo not California.
Noooooooooooo not fiji
Nooooooooooo not Miami!!!!!!!!!!!!
Nope not the amazon.
Not Boca Raton! I'll give you one LAST hint.
YOU'RE ABSO-FRICKIN-RIGHT!!!!! AFRICA WOOP!!! WOOP!!!!
In a future blog I will discuss more about Africa but for now I'll leave it at this... there are some mega rich nice areas in Africa but hey! Don't just take my word for it!!!!
Okay okay okay. Back to hunger.
I'm going to begin with some quotes about merchandise vs food.
On April 16, 1953 Dwight D. Eisenhower had this to say.
"Every gun that is made, every warship launched, every rocket fired is, in a sense, a theft from those who hunger and are not fed, those who are cold and are not clothed."
I agree with you Dwight!
Why waste money on destruction when you can create life?!
Lets take a look at some of the things that happened around 1953.
Joesph Stalin died in 1953. ???Who is Stalin, you ask???
Direct quote time Number 1!
"The man who turned the Soviet Union from a backward country into a world superpower at unimaginable human cost." -PBS.ORG!!!!!
And they are right!
I'll get into detail about Stalin in a later post... if i remember.
For now! Lets know that he Owned Russia during WWII. He was just a monster!
Anyways,
More from the 1953 era.
The Soviet union is winning over East Germany.
Oh look!
The Karean War! Those are litters of dead North Korean POWs.
Hmmm.... 1953... wasn't that a nearly right after WWII Dwight?
hmmm lets see.
Yeah, yeah. Me thinks so.
What else happened around 1953?
Hmmmm. BUT WHAT IS MY POINT, MR DWIGHT?!?!?!?!
Don't be an
Yeah weapons cost a lot. JUST imagine if we didn't have any. Imagine if we were so busy feeding the starving that we had no time or money to make weapons. This sounds harsh but weapons are a necessity as long as OTHER PEOPLE have weapons. WHAT ARE WE GOING TO DO?!?!?!?! THROW SOUP SPOON AT THE NAZIS?!?!?!?!?!
If EVERYONE listened to Dwight, yeah that would be great but that is not going to happen.
WHAT IF IT DID?!?!?!?!?!
A fighter jet equalsssssssssssssssssssssssss about 25 million dollars.
The Golf war was worth half a billion dollars.
A Tomahawk missile: about $1.3 million.
An air-to-air missile: $800,000 each.
Tank shells range from $2,000 to $36,000 each.
hmmmmmm.... What can you do with that money?
One $36,000 missile can feed an ENTIRE school of starving children everyday! FOR FIVE YEARS!!!
What the world spends on its military in TWO days, the cost of ten stealth bombers, could save 100 million children from dying for a FULL YEAR!!!
Most people think of the world like this!:
And they are right. That is the world my friend!
BUT!
This is the world too. This is the way I see it:
1/3 of us eat like 10 times a day.
1/3 of us barely eat everyday.
and the other 1/3?
barely eats at all.
I'll sum it up like this.
While you have been reading this, about 1000 people have died of starvation AND NOT JUST IN AFRICA!!
You know what the bad part is? WE TOTALLY HAVE ENOUGH FOOD AND MONEY!!!!!!!
The World Health organization estimates that 4 million people die a year of hunger thats not including the ones that die of hunger related issues.
Numerous sources say it would cost $30 billion dollars a year to END world hunger!
THAT IS A LOT OF MONEY?!?!?!?!?!?!?! ....right?....right?
Forbes richest people in the world?
#1 Carlos Slim Helu & family
| Net Worth: | $53.5 bil |
|---|
| Fortune: | Self Made |
| Source: | telecom |
| Age: | 70 |
| Country Of Citizenship: | Mexico |
| Residence: | Mexico City |
| Education: | Universidad Nacional Autonoma de Mexico, Bachelor of Arts / Science |
| Marital Status: | Widowed, 6 children |
hmmmmmm... Mexico? Can't even help your own country dude?
#2 William Gates III
| Net Worth: | $53.0 bil |
|---|
| Fortune: | Self Made |
| Source: | Microsoft |
| Age: | 54 |
| Country Of Citizenship: | United States |
| Residence: | Medina, Washington |
| Education: | Harvard U, Drop Out |
| Marital Status: | Married, 3 children |
| Net Worth: | $47.0 bil |
|---|
| Fortune: | Self Made |
| Source: | Berkshire Hathaway |
| Age: | 79 |
| Country Of Citizenship: | United States |
| Residence: | Omaha, Nebraska |
| Education: | Columbia U, Master of Science; U of Nebraska Lincoln, Bachelor of Arts / Science |
| Marital Status: | Widowed, 3 children |
BOTH of you need to help your own countries!
| Net Worth: | $29.0 bil |
|---|
| Fortune: | Inherited and Growing |
| Source: | petrochemicals, oil & gas |
| Age: | 52 |
| Country Of Citizenship: | India |
| Residence: | Mumbai |
| Education: | Stanford U, Drop Out; U Bombay, Bachelor of Arts / Science |
| Marital Status: | Married, 3 children |
SERIOUSLY DUDE?! IND-FRICKIN-A?!?!?
| Net Worth: | $28.7 bil |
|---|
| Fortune: | Inherited and Growing |
| Source: | steel |
| Age: | 59 |
| Country Of Citizenship: | India |
| Residence: | London |
| Education: | St Xavier C Calcutta, Bachelor ofArts / Science |
| Marital Status: | Married, 2 children |
WHAT?!?!?! YOUR MONEY IS STILL GROWING?!?!?!?! India too?!?!!?! Help out!!! THAT'S WHY LAKSHMI'S A GIRL NAME YOU JACKWAGON!!
We all know at least one retard.
NOW YOU KNOW SIX!!!!!!
$6 billion each. Just 6 billion. If you had $50 would you give me 6, just so I can remember what food felt like?
I'd give it to you.
What if this was your child? I'd cook myself so he could eat? Look at his face?
I'd sell my soul to the devil to end their suffering.
What would you do? 50 cents a day? 18 dollars a month? I wish I could just make enough money and give it all to them. I'm fine living off less than 40 dollars a day. In fact I made 65 dollars last week. If I had $30 billion even I'd ask for 1 billion from the worlds richest people until i had close to 30 million or as close as i could get and I would give the rest.
Cross my heart!
I used to think they all needed lollipops and candy. Potatoe chips and icecream! Kids need that stuff. its mandatory for being a kid. APARENTLY EVERYONE IN AMERICA THINKS THIS WAY TOO!!!!!
OUCH!!!
WELL SORRY!!!!! I guess I wont send chips and candy! Green-beans and spinach? spaghetti?
What can I as one person do?
Jesus was one person.
Gandhi was one person.
Hitler was one person.
Mother Theresa was one person.
Buddha was one person.
There are so many people that stood alone and still rocked the world. I just gotta come up with a good enough idea!
What does the bible say about starvation and hunger?
Young Russian girl.
For nation shall rise against nation, and kingdom against kingdom: and there shall be famines..." -Matthew 24:7
"And great earthquakes shall be in divers places, and famines, and pestilences; and fearful sights and great signs shall there be from heaven"-Luke 21:11
Exodus 22:22
Do not take advantage of a widow or an orphan.
Deuteronomy 15:7, 11
If there is a poor man among your brothers in any of the towns of the land that the LORD your God is giving you, do not be hardhearted or tightfisted toward your poor brother. There will always be poor people in the land. Therefore I command you to be openhanded toward your brothers and toward the poor and needy in your land.
Psalm 12:5
Because of the oppression of the weak and the groaning of the needy, I will now arise, says the LORD, I will protect them from those who malign them
Proverbs 11:24-25
One man gives freely, yet gains even more; another withholds unduly, but comes to poverty. A generous man will prosper; he who refreshes others will himself be refreshed.
Proverbs 21:13
If a man shuts his ears to the cry of the poor, he too will cry out and not be answered.
Proverbs 28:27
He who gives to the poor will lack nothing, but he who closes his eyes to them receives many curses.
Proverbs 31:8-9
Speak up for those who cannot speak for themselves, for the rights of all who are destitute. Speak up and judge fairly; defend the rights of the poor and needy.
Zechariah 7:8-10
And the word of the LORD came again to Zechariah: "This is what the LORD Almighty says: 'Administer true justice; show mercy and compassion to one another. Do not oppress the widow or the fatherless, the alien or the poor. In your hearts do not think evil of each other.'
Matthew 25:41-45
Then he will say to those on his left, 'Depart from me, you who are cursed, into the eternal fire prepared for the devil and his angels. For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.' They also will answer, 'Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?' He will reply, 'I tell you the truth, whatever you did not do for one of the least among you, you did not do for me.'
Now. All I ask is for you to play this song and view the pictures below. If you want, you can read my words. All I ask is just to take the time to listen to the song and view the pictures. It isn't much to ask, but if you do it, it's a start.
Unfortunately this child is real and most likely dead.
This is Kevin Cater's world renowned photo of a young girl
on her way to a food bank that was 3 kilometers away.
It is said that Kevin chased away the vulture who was waiting for the girl to die
so that she could be eaten. The girl is most likely dead. Kevin did not help her to her destination.
Instead he went and sat under a tree, smoked a cigarette and cried.
I used to blame Kevin. I used to say I would have gone to the ends of the earth for her.
But Kevin had seen so many like her. Kevin saw children like her everyday.
Kevin did not help her because he probably believed he could not do enough.
I used to blame Kevin.
Apparently, He blamed himself too and took his life 3 months after winning the Pulitzer prize for the image.
God bless you Kevin.
I saved this picture for last because it moved me so much. It alone made me write this blog. I was already saddened by the world but after viewing the image below, what I felt could never be explained in words.
"I almost didn't post the picture below.
To be honest I hoped it was a fake.
A photo-shopped piece of journalistic propaganda.
Apparently not.
You may not want to look.
It may make you ashamed to be human....I know it does me... [and me]
Hunger, that makes a child do this, should not be able to exist in a world where so much excess and waste exist.
This is not ok.
"And because they are not our children.
Because they are far away, with dark skin, in countries whose names we cannot pronounce.
Do we care less?
Or maybe not at all?
Hunger and hunger related illness kills 40,000 children a day.
14 million children a year.
That's the equivalent of eighty-five Boeing 747s crashing everyday and killing every passenger.
Or 34,000 crashes a year.
That would stay in the headlines.
Every headline, of every news show, every day.
But starvation doesn't.
Human Trafficking.
Doesn't." -
These are some sites that help:
Resources:
