Of all the charities that exist around the world, many fight to end one lasting problem — world hunger. When you’re a citizen of a First World country, it’s easy to forget too many people around the world struggle to find food each day. We can drive down to the grocery store for what we want, or even have entire meals delivered to our homes. Some people take time to recognize this and use their privileged platform to make a difference, which is exactly what an inspiring group of college students did.
Students at Presbyterian College in Clinton, S.C., came together to fight the hunger many people and families feel all over the world. While college students are notorious for not having much of their own, they were able to put together the money and supplies to bag food for people who need it the most.
The Issue They’re Fighting
World hunger is a broad issue that affects people who can’t get the help themselves. Whether their country has been through a drought or famine, or they’re not in a good economic position, people of all ages are going without food. Not only does this lack of food affect the health of populations, it also affects their employment.
Countries facing hunger issues aren’t producing as much food as they need to, which means there’s a lack of jobs and healthy employees. If people can’t make an income, they can’t afford to move somewhere with the food and resources they need to live a healthy life. Instead, people need to bring the help to them — which is a challenge when 815 million people are hungry, with an additional 2 billion people expected by 2050.
How the Students Gave Back
Back in South Carolina, Presbyterian College students recognized this problem and came together to form a solution for as many people as they could. Together, they packed 20,000 meals that will be shipped to countries like Nicaragua, Haiti and the Dominican Republic. Every meal was designed to feed six people and contained rice, vitamins and a protein packet to aid the overall health of each person who received a package. Many of the pre-packaged meals went to orphanages and schools.
Ways You Can Help
The first step to making a difference is learning everything you can about a current issue. Today, the world faces the greatest humanitarian crisis since World War II, with 20 million starving people in Africa and Yemen alone. Read everything you can about where people are hurting the most, and recognize you can make a difference, even if you only ever help one person.
The easiest way to help is by donating to charities that have a broad reach. It’s also important to note while there are many organizations that are ready to give you the opportunity to help people and make a difference, there are also some fraudulent ones. Before donating, always check with a well-known, dependable site to see the rating of the charity you have in mind, so you can know where your money is really going.
World hunger is an epidemic that not only affects people’s health and nutrition, but the communities and countries that deal with it as a whole. Those who are fighting to find food every day often can’t help themselves get to a better place, which is why it’s so important to be active in helping others. The hardworking South Carolina students from Presbyterian College serve as an incredible example of how much of an impact just a few people can have, so get inspired and get involved today.
