Hunger ?

  Well today I am going to write about Hunger, The oldest of all the problems ever faced by human beings. Many of us are unfamiliar with hunger. I tell you it is not the pleasurable sensation you feel when you are on a diet to reduce a few kilograms of your flesh. Hunger is the feeling you will have after living on two meals a days for your entire life. Yes there are such people in India. Well some studies suggest that three meals a day is still a luxury for a third of our citizens. Let us hope they have exaggerated the results. Even if one third is too high an estimate, it is a sure fact millions are hungry in our country. Each day thousands of children are nearing the end because of malnutrition.

  What can we do to solve these problems? Obviously we can't depend on our government for that. They have been trying to do that for the past sixty five years. I am not going to criticize the government for their action or inaction. All I am interested is in solutions. I absolutely believe that as citizens of this great nation we can solve this problem even without the interventions of the ruling class. My favorite solution involves the upper class in our country.

  Let us assume for arguments sake there are 300 million people belonging to the upper class in India. That is the same number of people not having three meals a day. If every one in our society who can feed one extra person other than his family is ready to do it.Then the problem of hunger is solved overnight. All we have to do is feed a child otherwise on a journey to his grave at an accelerated rate. Yes all we need to spend is less than Rs.100 a day to care for a child who might be living a block away from you (May be in a slum or in the side walk). We must not forget that Rs.100 is what most of the middle class and upper class Indians spend a day to eat junk food, which in turn will add unwanted calories to our body. For these unwanted calories, we again have to spend time in Gymnasiums, if not in hospitals.

  So all we need to do is say yes to the children in need of our help.
 

Things to do when you see a child beggar

 When you see a child beggar in front of you (It is not an uncommon sight in many of our cities) please try to follow some of the suggestions I put forward (Only if you find them genuine and trustworthy)

1. Most of the children are forced to do what they are doing. Some even have to achieve targets stipulated by child traffickers. These children will not benefit from the money you give to them. So never ever give them any money. It might be a bit difficult to digest. But if they don't bring money back home, this practice will stop sooner or later. So the golden rule is never to give any money to the children.

2. If you feel sad about the situation, try to give the child something to eat. It is very easy to do, because you might be in a Bus Stand, or a Railway Station where there are plenty of snack bars, tea shops etc. Buy a glass of milk or Tea along with few chocolates or some snacks to eat and give it to the child. You will see the difference. If you were giving money to him, he will be hungry still and some one else who runs the whole racket like a business firm will benefit from your kindness.

 3. If you have time (You might be waiting for a Bus or Train) try to have a chat with the child. Be careful, If you are too inquisitive defenitely the child will run away.He has received special instructions from his master to avoid such queries (I used the word master because these children are treated like slaves). If you feel that the child is ill treated please contact some child help line number and report the abuse. These child help line numbers are toll free so you can call them free of cost. One such number is 1098 maintained by a foundation called ChildLine India Foundation.

                     Let Us Give Them a Future, Not Just a Few Coins

If you have any suggestions or corrections please post a comment.

What are my Intentions?

  I am an Indian, a patriotic one too. I have written a few articles in the past dealing with poverty, hunger, diseases etc. I am not a person with a lot of free time and I am not interested in publicity. Then why I am spending time to write this? Well for starters, I believe, it is my duty to stand for humanity in general and my fellow citizens in particular. Together if we try we could make our country and this world a beautiful place for living.

  So with that sacred intention in mind I am spending my precious time to share my views, thoughts and ideas regarding poverty,hunger etc. I would mainly concentrate on India centric discussions. But it doesn't mean that I don't care about other nations. The problems faced by humans all over the world is just the same.

  If I could motivate someone in the fight against poverty, I am sure that the time I spent in front of this computer is not wasted. I truly believe that we can eradicate poverty and hunger by the simple acts of individuals. You don't need to be a super hero, you don't have to be a revolutionary, all you need to do is help that one person standing in front of you in need of your help.