Hunger Has a Name
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Working with the non-profit Numana has been an eye opener for me. I guess you could say that I was a typical North American, who basically just cared about the little world that’s around me and very little about anything else. Rarely did my thoughts turn outside of the U.S., except maybe occasionally when a missionary gave a talk, or perhaps when one of those commercials came on with the sad picture of a hungry child.
My first real introduction into life “beyond me” came with the horrendous earthquake in Haiti two years ago. Honestly, I volunteered with Numana not because I understood the plight of the starving, but because I thought I might have some marketing skills that could be used to their benefit. And what I anticipated would be just temporary assistance has turned into so much more.
I can still vividly recall our first Million Meal event in Wichita at the Kansas Coliseum. Each time the “gong” would sound I would literally be swept into tears, touched that so many people actually cared enough to volunteer. And tears thinking about the fact that someone in need would be able to fill their belly against the gnawing pangs of hunger.
Part of what I get to do is to research weekly news on the world’s starving. I say “get to” loosely as it can be heartbreaking. I was talking with my Social Media colleague, Olivia, one day and half kidding with her that one of “those” kids could have her name. And it REALLY hit me. Hunger has a Name. I’ve seen the pictures from Haiti. I’ve watched the videos on the Horn of Africa. I’ve looked at images of the hungry in Colombia. But in my little boxed-in world, I hadn’t realized that each one of those people has a name. They’re not just a mental picture somewhere in a place that I may never go to. When you come to the realization that it’s a real person, with a name and with a family, then you are compelled to do more than write a check or embrace a cause. You are compelled to live your own life differently!
Yes, Hunger has a Name. And it’s not just in third-world countries, it’s right in our own backyard. I know a woman who is one of the unfortunate people who lost her job during the last economic downturn. She spent a year and a half trying to find something else, but was turned down repeatedly. In the meantime, unemployment benefits have run out. And she has to rely on the “safety net” that our government offers, just to have enough to eat. Yes, Hunger has a Name, and in this case it is the name of Kim, my sister.
I find my inspiration in the Bible, where it is clear that God cares for orphans and widows. Orphans and widows….have a Name. And when I hear of not only our government, but other nations’ governments’ current penchant for wanting to reduce funds to those that need it the most, I’m thinking they’re forgetting that it’s not just a statistic or a number or dollars that they’re mulling over. They’re forgetting that he or she is a real person…who has a real name.
So the next time you see a commercial for the starving on TV, or see the photos on our Facebook page, or are taking part in one of our packaging events, stop and remember, hunger has a name. The most rewarding thing for me in working for Numana is knowing how many names I’ve helped feed.
The opinions expressed in this post are only that of the author and do not necessarily represent those of Numana.