Hunger facts in Haiti:
- Two and a half million Haitians live in extreme poverty.
- Almost 60 percent of the population live below the poverty line of US$1 a day.
- Rural households spend 60 percent of their income on food; the poorest groups spend more
than 70 percent. - Anemia affects 60 percent of children between the ages of six months and 5 years.
- Although agriculture is an important sector of Haiti’s economy, the country fails to produce enough food.
- Haiti imports more than 50 percent of its populations needs. It imports 80 percent of its main staple: rice.
Recently, a picture of a crying child caused an up roar among American people. Whether or not the picture was a true portrayal of actual conditions is up for debate. A picture of a child crying
from hunger in Haiti is just that — hunger.
Several years ago, I talked about visiting one of the churches and being in the kids Sunday school class. All they could talk about was how hungry they were. Of course, this was before the feeding programs, but that hunger is still in Haiti and kids still go without.
Thankfully, we have met much of that need in “our” villages because many of you give yearly for these programs, or your church does. Just saying “thank you” really doesn’t cover what it means to those who benefit from it.
Why a picture of an empty rice bag? I saw this on the ground after the rice had been poured into a big pot and I thought, some one at home paid for that to feed these kids. Why I picked it up is your guess, but this is what they buy with the money you give. You can see where it came from. 12.5 Kg is about 27.5 pounds (why they chose that rather than 25 pounds is your guess too).
Thank you for supporting programs like this. Terry and I hope all of you are blessed for helping.
