Tuesday, March 10, 2009

Please

About a year ago there was a lot of talk in the media about something that became known as the "Global Food Crisis." Reports were coming in from around the world detailing how the rising cost of food in developing countries was making those living in impoverished conditions struggle even harder to feed their families. It was becoming a serious issue and thousands upon thousands of people were in danger of starving to death.

Then the worst thing possible happened. The media got distracted by the US Presidential elections. The mortgage crisis hit and the economies of the First World Countries tanked. Suddenly people were more concerned about their devalued retirement accounts or their mortgages and the people starving to death around the world were pushed to the back page. Unfortunately, they have remained there as the media focused our attention on the inauguration of the USA's first black president and the billions of dollars in bailout money being dolled out for failing banks and automakers. In the meantime, things haven't gotten any better for the starving. In fact, it's gotten worse in a lot of countries. As prices rise and we worry about inflation here in the US, the developing countries are experiencing hyper-inflation and the cost of food has risen dramatically. Some of the original factors that turned this trend into a world calamity recently include unstable oil prices, increased meat consumption in countries like India and China, droughts in major crop-producing countries, and increased production of biofuels. When someone is only making a dollar or two a day and the price of a bag of rice increases by 50, 60 or 100% that's a huge deal. The UN World Food Programme calls the current global food crisis “a phenomenon, a silent tsunami,” that is affecting millions of families in every nation on every continent. This global food crisis is more rapid, urgent and devastating than any other in the history of our planet.

March 11, 2009 is a significant day. It's the day that Compassion International has dubbed "Global Food Crisis Day." The goal is simple. Raise money to provide food to families around the world who are starving. Compassion is partnering with radio stations, media, churches and bloggers to spread the word about the Global Food Crisis and raise funds that will make a real difference to those impacted by it. Here's the best part. You can help. You can make a donation that can literally save someone from starvation. Go to compassion.com/please and make a donation. Tell your family, friends and co-workers about it. Your donation will provide food vouchers to children and families needing immediate relief, buy seeds and agricultural tools so that families can grow their own food as well as earn extra income, and provide supplemental nutrition services at Compassion-assisted centers around the world. Be a hero - give, spread the word, save a life. Do it now.

Please.

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