Opportunities to end hunger have never been better than they are now

By the time you finish reading this article, nearly 50 children from around the world will have died from hunger. By the end of the day 16,000 will have died, and six million by the end of the year. Every five seconds a child dies from hunger-related issues.

According to ONE.org, 854 million people go hungry each year, 12.4 of which are children in the United States. That’s one in every 10 households.

Domestic hunger is greater than you might think. Forty-five percent of cities say they are unable to provide an adequate amount of food to their populations, and 23 percent of emergency food assistance needs were unmet in 2006, a rise from 18 percent in 2005, according to the ONE Web site.

In 2004, 11 non-profit organizations came together to join as one; they came together and formed the ONE Campaign, a grassroots organization to spread truth about world poverty and how to bring it to an end.

Today, ONE encompasses over 100 different non-profits and advocacy organizations working together to achieve one goal and one desire; to demand that our nation’s government effectively address global poverty, hunger and disease.

The ONE Campaign is not only over 2.4 million people (and growing) joined together to stand for this united cause, but it also includes some of the biggest names in music, movies, politics and religion. Actors George Clooney, Cameron Diaz, Brad Pitt and Ellen DeGeneres are just a few.

The ONE campaign is just one aspect to reach everyone across the nation. ONE Vote ‘08 is, “an unprecedented, bi-partisan campaign to make global health and extreme poverty foreign policy priorities in the 2008 presidential election,” according to the organization’s Web site (www.one.org).

ONE Campus Challenge is just that, a challenge to students across the nation’s campuses to prove that they are influential activists in the fight against extreme poverty in the world. The campus challenge is a “call to arms” to bring awareness and an end to global poverty for, arguably, the most powerful collection of people in the nation: college youth — you and I.

The challenge to you is to build the will, the tenacity and the dedication of your neighborhoods, dorms, classes and friends. Spread the word, become involved, tell a friend, tell a neighbor, become informed, become a force; a force to change the course of human history.

For the first time ever, our generation, you and I, have the capability, the technology and tools to end extreme hunger.

The only way to fight this devastating problem is to utilize the tools, focus attention, and mobilize the will and determination of everyone across the nation.

We need to set an example for the world. It is up to you to stand up and join together as ONE to become a voice to those who cannot be heard around the world.

You could be part of the largest movement ever to end poverty. You could be part of ONE goal, ONE desire, ONE end to hunger in the world.

To find more information or to get involved visit www.one.org, or find the facebook.com group, ONE UK Chapter.

Phillip Gravatte is a journalism junior. Email [email protected].