By Elysia Walton, SnapSpace Solutions Staff
February 9, 2012
Everyone has seen the television commercials of babies with bloated bellies, hungry eyes, and bare feet. In fact, many of us have probably taken the advice of these commercials and sponsored a child. This sponsorship opens up a whole new world to the child you have chosen. When they are sponsored, in most cases, they are given an education, a way to earn money, and food. Every person who sponsors a child counts. It does not matter if you are young or old—sponsoring a child is a fantastic way to make a huge impact on humanity.
Unfortunately, even though many children are sponsored, many more are left hungry. Thousands are left to die with nothing in their stomachs, nothing on their feet, and a family left behind. Hunger is the cause of death for about 25,000 people every day.[1] That is the equivalent of all the citizens of South Portland, Maine, dropping dead in one day.[2] But this tragedy of death does not happen only once, it happens to that amount every day. The saddest part of it all is that most of these deaths are children.[3] They have not had a chance to get an education, live out any dreams, or even just live!
982 million people in the developing world live on $1 a day.[4] $7 dollars a week. Just imagine; no four dollar Starbucks coffee, no thirty dollar haircut, and no five dollar McDonald’s meal. The pair of shoes at the department store you see and think, “Hey, I can manage spending thirty dollars on those”. Well, if you are part of the developing world, this is not even a possible consideration. For Valentine’s Day you may buy a box of chocolates for your sweetheart, a very common and not high-dollar purchase for most Americans, but it is not even a thought for so many living in poverty. The fifty dollars in gas you had to spend to get to work is not cheap, but to many living in America it is just an accepted expense we “cannot get by without”.[5] When you add all of these things together it equals about $101. This amount is over three months allowance for much of the world.
Unfortunately, hunger is not even the biggest concern for thousands of people: Water problems affect half of humanity.[6] In other words, even if the person in the developing country had the dollar a day necessary to get by, they could die from dehydration. I cannot even imagine being that thirsty; yet many people experience this very feeling, and their life is cut short.
Another major factor in the high death rate is the lack of sufficient housing. About 95 million people, one third of our nation, have housing issues.[7] Additionally, by the year 2030, another 3 billion people, (about 40 percent of the world’s current population), will need access to housing. This translates into a demand for 96,150 new affordable homes every day, and 4,000 every hour.[8]
If people had better places to live, perhaps they could spend less of their time worrying about keeping their family warm and safe, and more time figuring how to earn more money to feed them. If we can help the poorest of the poor to a safe and decent house, a world of possibilities could be opened for those struggling every day. SnapSpace Solutions has a dream of helping these suffering communities. We can help lower the incredible number of 25,000 deaths per day. Our housing solutions are affordable, transportable, safe, and strong. We hope to be able to join world-wide efforts to bring help to the poverty-stricken. Our solution is through providing safe housing, how can you join to make a difference?
Unfortunately, even though many children are sponsored, many more are left hungry. Thousands are left to die with nothing in their stomachs, nothing on their feet, and a family left behind. Hunger is the cause of death for about 25,000 people every day.[1] That is the equivalent of all the citizens of South Portland, Maine, dropping dead in one day.[2] But this tragedy of death does not happen only once, it happens to that amount every day. The saddest part of it all is that most of these deaths are children.[3] They have not had a chance to get an education, live out any dreams, or even just live!
982 million people in the developing world live on $1 a day.[4] $7 dollars a week. Just imagine; no four dollar Starbucks coffee, no thirty dollar haircut, and no five dollar McDonald’s meal. The pair of shoes at the department store you see and think, “Hey, I can manage spending thirty dollars on those”. Well, if you are part of the developing world, this is not even a possible consideration. For Valentine’s Day you may buy a box of chocolates for your sweetheart, a very common and not high-dollar purchase for most Americans, but it is not even a thought for so many living in poverty. The fifty dollars in gas you had to spend to get to work is not cheap, but to many living in America it is just an accepted expense we “cannot get by without”.[5] When you add all of these things together it equals about $101. This amount is over three months allowance for much of the world.
Unfortunately, hunger is not even the biggest concern for thousands of people: Water problems affect half of humanity.[6] In other words, even if the person in the developing country had the dollar a day necessary to get by, they could die from dehydration. I cannot even imagine being that thirsty; yet many people experience this very feeling, and their life is cut short.
Another major factor in the high death rate is the lack of sufficient housing. About 95 million people, one third of our nation, have housing issues.[7] Additionally, by the year 2030, another 3 billion people, (about 40 percent of the world’s current population), will need access to housing. This translates into a demand for 96,150 new affordable homes every day, and 4,000 every hour.[8]
If people had better places to live, perhaps they could spend less of their time worrying about keeping their family warm and safe, and more time figuring how to earn more money to feed them. If we can help the poorest of the poor to a safe and decent house, a world of possibilities could be opened for those struggling every day. SnapSpace Solutions has a dream of helping these suffering communities. We can help lower the incredible number of 25,000 deaths per day. Our housing solutions are affordable, transportable, safe, and strong. We hope to be able to join world-wide efforts to bring help to the poverty-stricken. Our solution is through providing safe housing, how can you join to make a difference?
[1] http://www.hottnez.com/the-10-poorest-countries-of-the-world/
[2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/South_Portland,_Maine
[3] http://www.hottnez.com/the-10-poorest-countries-of-the-world/
[4] http://www.hottnez.com/the-10-poorest-countries-of-the-world/
[5] http://blog.autoref.com/2011/03/28/how-much-does-it-cost-to-fill-your-tank/
[6] http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
[7] http://www.globalissues.org/article/26/poverty-facts-and-stats
[8] http://worldhabitatdaynews.com/
