MySpace Friend of the Day: Freedom From Hunger

http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendid=69939174&MyToken=0bcf5c25-ab58-40c7-aa36-486e020a3485

The Problem: Imagine being so poor that you must struggle just to get enough good-quality food through the year to live a healthy, productive life. This devastating human experience is known as chronic hunger, and about one billion people live this way, including children, who are extremely vulnerable to illness made worse by malnutrition and who often die very young.

So what causes chronic hunger? You may be surprised to learn that it has little to do with food shortages. Global supplies of food far outstrip demand. Chronic hunger affects more than 800 million people in the world and it is, in and of itself, a potentially deadly condition.

Far more people die from causes related to chronic hunger than to famine. Chronically hungry people are exceptionally vulnerable when famine strikes. They have fewer resources to protect themselves and their families and are already living on the margin of survival.

Our Solution: Unlike famine or periodic hunger due to war or natural disasters, chronic hunger is a persistent and insidious condition that can affect generations of people in a geographic region. Those living with chronic hunger face a host of problems that go beyond lack of food or money.

To alleviate this condition, efforts must address root causes, be sustainable (that is, programs must pay for themselves), and they must be implemented by local people for the long term. Freedom from Hunger's Credit with Education program is just such a strategy. Freedom from Hunger and its local partners give small groups of women access to a loan and offers them a safe place to save a little money.

The loans are called “microcredit” because they can be as little as $5 or as much as $300. The loans transform women into entrepreneurs who run home-based businesses, such as making food products or crafts to sell. No longer forced to scrape together whatever money they can earn, these women generate a regular income, along with a new sense of accomplishment and self-esteem.

But increasing incomes is only the beginning of this self-help process. Freedom from Hunger’s Credit with Education program also provides vital education to women at their weekly meetings. As women gather to pay back their loans, they learn about health, nutrition, family planning and sound business practices. Using the additional income they earn from their businesses, the women act on this knowledge and begin to break the cycle of chronic hunger and poverty.

Women in developing countries are hardworking and eager to make life better for themselves and their families. Freedom from Hunger ensures they have the resources to do just that.

To learn more about Freedom from Hunger's programs, please go here.