As Canadians we have a good reputation worldwide for giving. In the case of my home community of Attawapiskat and the recent news about the housing crisis, the Canadian Red Cross stepped in to help out. I would like to take this opportunity to thank that organization and all those people who donated to its fundraising drive. I also want to voice my appreciation to the wonderful people who have contributed to other fundraising efforts and awareness campaigns.
I never had to worry too much about hunger when I was a child. My family was lucky in that we had parents that always managed to find some form of work in the community to feed a family of 11. We also carried on the tradition of hunting and gathering which really helped to contribute to food for the family.
The big problem with nutrition was due to the fact that everything was so expensive to buy at the local store. That is still the case today because food has to be transported by air or summer barge or by winter road. This results in huge costs for store bought food products. Many families just can’t afford to eat well and the diet features a lot of cheap pasta, canned food and processed meats. In turn, this has led to malnutrition and diabetes in many First Nations across Canada.
Actually hunger is very widespread in our world and that is a very sad thing. Most people reading these words have lots of food and never go to bed hungry at night. We are the lucky ones.
Did you know that hunger is the world’s number one health risk? It kills more people in the world than AIDS, malaria and tuberculosis combined. Every five seconds a child dies in the world from hunger. One in seven people in the world go to bed hungry. One in four children in developing countries are under weight. More people are hungry in the world than the combined populations of Canada, the United States and the countries of the European Union.
Most of us here in Canada eat what we want, when we want and generally the sky is the limit. What if you had been born in a developing country or on a remote First Nation? I imagine if you had the opportunity to choose, you would prefer to have arrived in a developed country and most everything you would want was available to you.
This have-and-have-not reality that we exists in the world today is grossly unfair. There is no reason for it as we have enough food and resources to share. Part of the problem is that we are insulated from the reality of poverty and hunger in remote First Nations and the third world. If we had the opportunity to visit these places and witness the destitute situations so many people are living in, I am sure we would feel obliged to do something about it.
I know that many people in Canada were surprised to find out that life is so difficult in remote First Nations.
The fact is that somehow we have to change our priorities as people of the planet Earth. We have to realize that things are just not right and as a matter of fact unjust. We have enough wealth and resources but the problem is that most of the power that controls it all is commanded by a very small percentage of the population. That has to change. We need a more fair and equitable system. I am not sure how this can be done. However, I know that if we have the will, no matter what the politics are, we can figure it out.
Right now there are so many good people all over the world who are devoting their time, expertise and efforts to helping people who are underprivileged. And these people are making a difference.
There are small things we can do to help out. It is very easy to make a donation of food or money to your local food bank. There are boxes waiting for you at just about every grocery store in the country.
You can also make a difference by donating to organizations like the Red Cross at www.redcross.ca
You can also support organizations such as the Humanitarian Coalition, which includes Plan Canada, Oxfam Canada, Oxfam Quebec, CARE Canada and Save the Children Canada that all act together in the most dire emergencies. You can donate to them at www.together.ca
These organizations are active worldwide when it comes to crisis situations. Maybe the most important thing we can do is to just take a minute and appreciate how fortunate we are and how we really do have some responsibility in helping others who are not.
