To satisfy the ENTIRE world's sanitation and food requirements would cost an estimated $19 billion a year; Americans alone spend more than $19 billion a year ON ICE CREAM. Couldn't some of our money go towards something a little more important?...
This is a paper I did in a writing class:
"According to the UN and several other organizations, every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of hunger wordwide; most of which are children. I don't know about you, but I can hardly even begin to comprehend this reality. The second I even try to comprehend this, a part of me feels blessed but an even bigger part of me feels guilty. Is there any reason for me to feel guilty? How can I possibly be responsible for something that is happening on the other side of the planet?
Every 30 seconds, an African child dies from malaria. And although bed nets would almost cure this problem, 19/20 do not own one because they can't afford it. In America, a bed net costs about 3 dollars and 95% of people in Africa can't even afford to pay this amount in order to save their lives.
In Africa, 6,600 people die of Aids per day. The vast majority of people in Africa (or other countries in extreme poverty) cannot even afford condoms. Condoms would not only help the AIDS pandemic but would also cut down the population which would help virtually every problem they face including starvation.
25,000 people die per day of hunger worldwide mostly because of agricultural struggles. In Africa, over the past 25 years, their food production has decreased by 23 percent (even though population has increased dramatically) mostly because of declining soil fertility, land degradation and the AIDS pandemic. To make it even worse, fertilizer in Africa costs two to six times more than the world market price. Not only can they not afford condoms or bed nets but they can't afford modern farming technology, tools and fertilizer.
In 2000, 191 United Nations member states (Including the U.S.) made a pledge/promise to help eradicate poverty throughout the world. Their goal was to reduce worldwide extreme poverty by half by 2015. All 191 members agreed to donate .7% of their nation's income to this goal and so far this is not happening. The only members that are currently giving .7% or more are: Denmark, Luxembourg, Netherlands, Norway and Sweden. The U.S. is currently giving .2% which is the least amount per capita of all the UN members. The UN has repeatedly stated that their goals are not going as well as they had planed and they are begging all of the members to try to make it to .7% in order to meet their goal in 2015.
I think the obvious question is: Do we have a duty towards people in Africa? Why should we give billions of dollars to people on the other side of the globe who can't take care of themselves? I don't think there is an intellectual answer to this question. My personal answer comes from feelings of compassion, sadness and guilt when I hear all of these statistics.
I think it is safe to say that most people would agree that this reality that the statistics are painting for us sparks feelings of compassion and sadness. I don't think that the majority of people in this country of ours would relate to me when I say that I feel guilty. Most people would probably get the feeling that they are blessed or lucky rather than guilty.
I think that every American is very blessed and very lucky because we don't have to deal with most of these things. But when I attempt to picture someone dying of hunger every 3.6 seconds while a man in his BMW drives by, I personally feel more guilty than lucky. Here I am: going to movies, buying excessive clothes, eating excessive food, going to nice restaurants, buying a CD, buying a nice sofa, driving a nice car, going to Lagoon on the weekend, going on a vacation to Hawaii, buying knick knacks, going out for ice cream, living in a big house with air conditioning, electricity and a toilet, etc…. while 25 THOUSAND people die of hunger in one single day.
We currently give .2% of our budget towards this cause. I think at the very least we should be giving .7%. I could go into more detail about government spending and politics but frankly I don't think that is incredibly significant. Of coarse that is a bold and almost stupid statement, and I won't deny that I'm a bit of a "John Lennon dreamer", but I think this situation is quite simple: where should we invest our money?
According to what the UN estimates about how much money is needed to meet their goal in 2015 (to cut poverty in half), if everyone in America donated 4 dollars per month we would be taking care of one tenth ( out of 191 nations) of what is needed to reach this goal in 2015. So really, in order to do our share proportionally, every American would have to donate only 50 cents per month (and even that would be generous). If you look at it from America's budget it looks like an unreasonably huge amount of money to just give away. But if you look at it from the perspective of how much each individual person will pay it doesn't seem like a bad way to spend 50 cents per month.
If our government isn't willing to go the extra mile to help these fellow human beings then we the people need to do something about it. I dare you to try to imagine living in extreme poverty. I dare you to look at the next adorable infant you see and picture them living in Africa. I dare you to step outside your box and observe all the luxury around you and then compare it to what people in Africa are going through."
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
.
There are many things you can do to help: Spread awareness, petition the government, devote your time or money to a charitable organization, etc...
If you decide to look for a charitable organization, here are some web pages that can help you find one: