Some Light Hearted Talk... About Poverty

[silentsound]

Back in 2000 the UN created the Millennium Development Goals, a set of goals aimed to eradicate poverty by 2015. This sounds huge, even impossible. But did you know that if everyone gave only 0.7% of their income we could make poverty history? Yep, it's true. If you set aside 7 cents for every $10 that comes into your house we would beat poverty. Today is a day of "Fasting, Prayer, and Remembrance" for achieving the MDGs.
Today I went for 22 hours without food. And it was hard and I was hungry and tired all day. It reminded me that we need to stop this. Not as a country, not as a region, but as humankind. Nearly 3 billion people are hungry. A child dies every three seconds from a treatable disease. That's just not right. As I sat late this evening picking at a warm bowl of pasta, my first meal since last night's dinner, I just couldn't feel the same about it. Yes, it was nice to get back to food and fuel, but what about the billions of kids who have to go to bed hungry every night just to wake up and do it all again tomorrow? That's not right. It's not right that it would only take 0.7% of everyone's income and we still have millions upon millions of innocent people dying every day. 0.7% is a drop in the bucket. It's nothing. We can't afford to stand and watch while this is happening every day. We can fix this. It's time to step up.
Here are some organizations you can check out to do your part to make poverty history:
Kiva.org
Freerice.com
ONE campaign
Oxfam America
Stand Up Against Poverty

Please check out these sites. It's time to make poverty history, once and for all. It's time to step up.
♥

[beckyg]

Thanks for the reminder and good for you for participating in the fast. Imagine the people in the world that could be fed with the amount of money the U.S. is spending on war. Imagine the people who could be fed if those people fighting same-sex marriage in California would put that money toward feeding the poor. Its ridiculus!

I sponsor two children in Ghana (West Africa). I just got new pictures of them today. I do that through World Vision. Its a Christian organization but poverty, clean drinking water, and health come first. I made sure of that. I've had Christian organizations contact me before whose main purpose is converting Muslims to Christianity. Frankly, that pisses me off! Everyone in this world should have the freedom to worship as they choose. It is none of their business if they worship the ground they walk on. If they truly want to help, then supply them with food and clean water and a place to get an education! *end of Becky's rant*

[silentsound]

Way to go Becky!

Also, I know I listed a lot of organizations, but for people without much time or resources freerice.com is the best. Just take five minutes and work on your vocab while donating rice to someone who needs it!

[xballetxbeautyx]

*loves Freerice*

*is off to play now*