Approximately
1.2
billion people suffer from hunger.
Over 9 million people die worldwide each year
because of hunger and malnutrition.
Over 6 million
children under the age of five
die every year as a result of hunger.
BIRMINGHAM
CROP WALK
INFORMATION
INFORMATION
3rd
Annual
Birmingham
C R O P
Hunger Walk
SUNDAY
APRIL 13
2008
Registration
1:45 PM
Walk Begins
2:30 PM
Rushton Park
on Highland Avenue
in Southside area
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Birmingham
CROP Walk
2008
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Children of
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MUSIC VIDEO
"It's time for
greatness,
not greed.
It's a time for
idealism,
not ideology.
It is a time
not just for
compassionate
words, but for
compassionate
action."
MARIAN WRIGHT
EDELMAN
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COMMUNITIES RESPONDING TO OVERCOME POVERTY
Birmingham CROP
Hunger Walk
Sunday, April 13, 2008
"An individual
has not started living until he can rise above the narrow confines of
individualistic concerns to the broader concerns of all humanity."
-MARTIN LUTHER KING JR.
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Video
HUNGER
Millions of people worldwide
live on the edge of subsistence, at the will of fragile
economies, struggling to escape the crushing grip of poverty
and powerlessness. Most are hungry--and they need more than
a handout. They need a way out.
Hunger means different
things in different places...
In Southern Africa it may mean crop failures, food
shortages, and famine resulting from prolonged drought.
Families and communities may need emergency food, as well as
seeds for replanting.
In the highlands of Bolivia, it may mean malnutrition
resulting from inadequate protein in the family diet. There
training in fish farming can mean improved health for
parents and children. Our bodies also need an adequate
supply of clean water to survive and thrive. So, in many
communities, clean water wells--along with improved
irrigation for gardens--can mean life and health.
Church World Service helps
create pockets of education and innovation, enterprise and
collaboration, powered by local ingenuity and nurtured by
the self-respect that inevitably flows from it. Creative
initiatives by impoverished people are making a difference.
If we work together, we can build a world that works for
all.
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Hunger Facts
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Birmingham/Alabama Hunger & Poverty Statistics
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and poverty stats
POPULATION
FACTS & FIGURES
854 million people across
the world are hungry, up from 852 million a year ago.
Every day,
more than 16,000 children die from hunger-related causes--one
child every five seconds. In essence, hunger is the most
extreme form of poverty, where individuals or families
cannot afford to meet their most basic need for food. Hunger
manifests itself in many ways other than starvation and famine.
Most poor people who battle hunger deal with chronic
undernourishment and vitamin or mineral deficiencies, which
result in stunted growth, weakness and heightened susceptibility
to illness. Countries
in which a large portion of the population battles hunger daily
are usually poor and often lack the social safety nets we enjoy,
such as soup kitchens, food stamps, and job training programs.
When a family that lives in a poor country cannot grow enough
food or earn enough money to buy food, there is nowhere to turn
for help.
Today our world
houses 6.55 billion people. The United States is a part of
the developed or industrialized world, which consists of about
57 countries with a combined population of about 1 billion, less
than one sixth of the world’s population. In contrast,
approximately 5.1 billion people live in the developing world.
This world is made up of about 125 low and middle-income
countries in which people generally have a lower standard of
living with access to fewer goods and services than people in
high-income countries. The remaining 0.4 billion live in
countries in transition, which include the Baltic states,
eastern Europe and the Commonwealth of Independent States.
Worldwide, more than 1 billion people currently live below
the international poverty line, earning less than $1 per
day. Among this group of poor people, many have problems
obtaining adequate, nutritious food for themselves and their
families. As a result, 820 million people in the developing
world are undernourished. They consume less than the minimum
amount of calories essential for sound health and growth.
Undernourishment negatively affects people’s health,
productivity, sense of hope and overall well-being. A lack of
food can stunt growth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinder fetal
development and contribute to mental retardation. Economically,
the constant securing of food consumes valuable time and energy
of poor people, allowing less time for work and earning income.
Socially, the lack of food erodes relationships and feeds shame
so that those most in need of support are often least able to
call on it.
Click here for UNFPA
Population Notes
ALERT NET
Take the AlertNet Challenge. This quiz, sponsored
by the Reuters Foundation, tests your knowledge and awareness of
disasters and their impact worldwide.
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Click here to Take the AlertNet Quiz Click here to Visit the AlertNet Disaster News Website |
HUNGER &
POVERTY ALLEVIATION
Hunger affects more than 840 million people worldwide. More than 300 million of these people are in Africa. Hunger is an obstacle to progress: It increases susceptibility to disease, hinders learning, and leaves a person weak and unable to work or meet family needs. This break in self-reliance inhibits developing economies and creates poverty.
Consistent with the United Nations Millennium Development
Goals, Church World Service works to end hunger and poverty
by:
Advocating for trade policies and practices that work for
people: Church World Service
works to educate and raise awareness of the need for just
trade rules and policies that promote economic justice. Even
a 1% increase in world exports from Africa would improve
incomes and help lift 40 million Africans out of poverty.
Achieving food security:
Church World Service emphasizes programs that provide
inputs, protect land rights, support nutrition education and
food diversification, and value indigenous knowledge.
Supporting rural livelihoods:
Over 70% of Africa’s rural people earn their living from the
land. Church World Service supports programs which increase
opportunities for livelihood growth through improvements in
production, the establishment of rural cooperatives, and the
creation of employment through skill-building programs.
Improving natural resource management:
CWS supports programs that target declining soil fertility,
groundwater contamination, and persistent drought. CWS
encourages an approach that supports ecosystems and educates
farmers about protecting and managing their natural
resources.
Promoting women’s empowerment and education for girls:
In general, African women shoulder overwhelming
responsibilities within their families and communities.
Greater efforts toward gender equality are thus a
prerequisite for the eradication of poverty and hunger.
Church World Service supports programs that provide women
with the education, information, and resources they need to
make the best decisions regarding the care and well-being of
their family, community, and nation.
Training in disaster management and mitigation:
CWS emphasizes community-level emergency management training
to build local capacity for emergency response and proactive
disaster mitigation, strengthening the local ability to
provide a broad spectrum of humanitarian assistance.
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Issues That Affect Everyone
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Important Links |
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Informational & Inspirational Video Clips
TODAY IN AFRICA
Today, Africa knows the
effects of war and civil conflict. People on various parts
of the continent are eager for strategies of
peace that equip
them with tools to heal physical, social, and psychological
scars. To plant seeds of peace among the younger generation,
the CWS School Safe Zones program is being piloted in Kenya.
Today, Africa has large numbers of displaced people who know the suffering of being forced to flee home, community, and all that is familiar. In addition to emergency shelter, sustenance, and medical care, uprooted children and adults need education, job skills, and socialization as they grapple with the challenges of displacement and seek asylum or a way home.
Today, parts of Africa are in the grip of endemic poverty. Parents and communities seek alleviation of hunger and poverty — food for their children and the means to earn sustainable income.
Today, people in virtually
every region of Africa face water shortages.
Water resource
development is needed to secure clean safe water for daily
needs — drinking, cooking, hygiene, and agriculture — and
for long-term community stability.
Today, millions of people across Africa are dying from AIDS
and AIDS-related illness. They need
HIV/AIDS programs
that will advocate for anti-retroviral medications, offer
prevention education and healthcare counseling, and provide
solutions that embrace AIDS orphans and vulnerable children.
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Africa Facts
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About the CWS Africa Initiative
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"Speak out for those who cannot speak,
for the rights of all the destitute....
defend the rights of the poor and needy."
-PROVERBS 31:8-9
"I was a stranger, and you welcomed me."
-MATTHEW 25:35
