Vote For Freedom From Hunger

I have told you about this wonderful organization and the ways they help impoverished families by giving loans to women to set up their own businesses and the training they do with communities on health issues, such as mosquito netting, immunizations and checkups for their children. Now is your chance to help them help others and if you cannot give money then all you have to do is vote. That is it, vote once a day for Freedom from Hunger to give them a chance at receiving $23,000 in donations from  First Preston Management. The more votes they receive the more their share of the $23,000 they will receive. All it takes is a minute of your time once a day until Feb. 28^th to vote for this charity which I highly endorse. Please learn more about Freedom from Hunger by going to their site and see for yourself the ways they help every day.

Philippines: MAHP, Freedom from Hunger's Microfinance and Health Protection program, has proven that microfinance institutions can add health protection options -- such as dental care -- for an additional cost of only 29 cents per client and still maintain a profit margin. Our little patient looks like she needs a bit more convincing!


God Bless,
Mitch

A Charity Worth Looking, At Freedom from Hunger

Freedom from Hunger remains one of my favorite charities. They do not just give food or money to people, they do so much more. They give dignity where there was none. They give chances to people who thought they had none. They give a hand to those who need support.



Founded in 1946, Freedom from Hunger brings innovative solutions and helps in the fight against chronic hunger and poverty. Freedom from Hunger is funded by a grant from Bill and Melinda Gates of $5.6 million dollars. This is only one of a handful of organizations experimenting with health care microfinancing. When looking into the impact on these loans it was discovered that people were not using the loans to grow a business, but were using the money to pay for a sick kid. In 2007 FFH started it's microfinance and health protection program at institutions in five nations and offers discount doctor visits, health care savings accounts, affordable medicines and emergency health care loans. In most cases, customers were required to attend health care classes in order to get the small business loan.

The theory is the healthier the borrowers, the better bank customers they will be. Loans will be repaid and they will come back for bigger loans making their business start ups better and their families will thrive. 15,000 families are now getting basic medical care. When doctors were first approached about offering discounted care only 7 signed up. Now there are 51.Women are attending health seminars and using health care loans to pay for eyeglasses and minor surgeries Freedom from Hunger will continue it's experiment in 2009. Think of how the money you give can impact one families life.

Here are some of the ways you can help.

Is Food Shortage The Cause Of Death In Impoverished Nations?

Most people think that starvation is what is the cause of death among the worlds hungry. Disease from too little food is what causes death, not just the absence of food. Weakened bodies from too little food are susceptible to disease, mental retardation in fetuses, slow growth and  slow thinking.

Is there a shortage of food to feed the worlds hungry? You would be surprised to learn that global food supplies far out strip demand. There are 5 things that contribute to most of the world’s hunger.

Poverty. Poor people lack the resources needed to grow or buy food on a consistent basis. These resources may include, land, tools or money.

Armed conflict. War disrupts agricultural programs, and governments spend more on arms than on social programs.

Environmental overload. Rapid population growth in poor nations and  over consumption by wealthy nations, strain natural resources and make it harder for poor people to feed themselves.

Discrimination. Often the result of racial, gender or ethnic discrimination is from lack of access to education, credit and employment, this is a recipe for hunger.

Lack of clout. In the final analysis, hunger is caused by powerlessness. People who do not have the power to protect their own interests are hungry. The burden of this condition falls most acutely on children, women and elderly people.

Self-help solutions to a World wide  problem. Unlike famine or periodic hunger due to war or natural disasters, chronic hunger is a persistent and insidious condition that can effect generations of people in a geographic region. To alleviate this condition, efforts must address root causes, be sustainable and they must be implemented by local people for the long term.

Freedom from hunger’s credit with education program is just such a strategy. They are transferring the program technology they have developed to local people around the world. These people are using it to help their own families and communities.

Freedom from hunger was founded in 1946, and is a non profit, international organization that brings innovative and sustainable self-help solutions to the fight against chronic hunger and poverty