Tuesday, September 4, 2012

Hunger Looms in 2013...

I read an interesting article in CNN the other day that talks about the looming hunger crisis for 2013. Due to global aberrations in weather, crop failures are reported in just about every major area of the world. We have seen that in the US this summer with soaring, record temperatures and below average rainfall especially in our major food producing states. In encourage you to read the article which can be found at:

http://edition.cnn.com/2012/09/03/opinion/frum-food-price-crisis/index.html?hpt=hp_c1

As I think about this coming hunger issue, I also can't help but think about the pre-exisiting hunger problems that the world faces today...

* The continued drought and hunger issues of North Africa, particularly the Sahel and Horn of Africa regions. Over 20 million people facing food insecurity right now.

* The hundreds of thousands of refugees coming out of Syria, North Africa, and Central Asia due to armed conflicts. Add to this the thousands of internally displaced persons (IDPs) who can't flee.

* The chronic undernourishment affecting 1 out of every 7 persons in the world today. That's about 1 billion people who live day to day not knowing where they're next meal might be coming from (if it comes at all).

People who know me know that I am not some sort of doomsday prophet. However, I do marvel that all this increase in hunger is coming at a time when those of us who have the resources to help are tired and overtaxed and a bit burned out with compassion fatigue. It seems that we're bombarded by needs of the world everywhere we turn. It can lead to paralysis, ignoring the problems, or worse, apathy.

Here's some relief. Southern Baptists have a historical "dollar in, dollar out" fund that addresses world hunger needs. Eighty percent is used overseas and twenty percent here in the US. It funds critical projects that address both acute and chronic hunger needs. And none of the funds are taken out by the administrating bodies for home office/administration costs.

So, if you only have a dollar or a hundred dollars to do something with about world hunger, I would highly recommend giving through the Southern Baptist World Hunger Fund (SBWHF).

You can learn more about the SBWHF by visiting the website:

www.worldhungerfund.com

If you're interested in stories that show how we address hunger issues, I encourage you to visit our BGR website at:

www.gobgr.org

Hunger looms. What can we do? More importantly, what will we do?



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