There’s a song by British punk singer TV Smith that goes: “I pay more for my food ’cause the supermarket’s too far. It’s expensive being poor, because everything costs more.”
This sums up the realities of our families in the countries we serve. And these problems often have dire consequences.
Food insecurity
Paying for food is a challenge for those living in extreme poverty. Add in the costs of transportation, and those groceries become more costly. But it’s the time spent making that trek when these families start to really lose out, because they could be using that time to work and earn money.
Food costs also have risen in the first quarter of 2014, up 4 percent (http://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/poverty/publication/food-price-watch-may-2014). Natural disasters, such as floods, tropical storms and long periods of drought, cause crop failures and further impact prices and accessibility.
The daily struggle to make ends meet and put food on the table presents long-term consequences for both adults and children. When adults don’t consistently consume nutritious foods, they become weaker, preventing them from working. It’s called the “poverty trap (http://www.wfp.org/hunger/causes),” and it’s a chronic problem. Child malnutrition is even more debilitating, causing permanent physical and mental development damage. See how poverty creates an inescapable loop?
Providing nutritional help
To help combat child hunger, we’ve implemented nutrition programs (https://www.children.org/nutrition), offered through many of our community centers. Through these programs, we regularly monitor sponsored children’s health and offer malnutrition screenings, provide daily feeding programs in schools and teach the basics of nutrition and how families can combine inexpensive foods to create more nutritious meals.
For example, in Lusaka, Zambia, our nutrition program has saved many lives, including that of 5-year-old Nickson. Last year, Nickson recovered from third-degree malnutrition and now can run around and play with friends like any other child. In Guayaquil, Ecuador, a typical meal is high in carbohydrates and low in protein. Vegetables are not popular. As a result, malnutrition is common. There, we’ve implemented health and nutrition training and have helped hundreds of children reach normal nutritional status. And in Kolkata, India, we’ve seen a 35 percent rehabilitation rate among moderately malnourished children thanks to our nutrition program.
As TV Smith says, “It’s expensive being poor.” But Children International and our thousands of supporters are working to change that by helping all our children grow up strong and have a better chance for happier, more productive futures.
