Finding the Good in the World

In a recent collaboration with Finding the Good in the World written by Alicia Famulari, we read an article about a woman who has dedicated her life to helping the homeless and their pets.

Karen Hamza became homeless after the house she was living in became infested with mold, and she was forced to move out. With her dog Tippy by her side, Hamza started living in her 1988 Acura. For Almost two years, Hamza and her dog stayed in her car, through the freezing winters and the boiling summers, she described the experience as "it is like being in an oven. In the winter, it's like being in a literal freezer.". The cold weather negatively impacted her health, and Hamza reached one her lowest points. Thankfully, she found a small apartment suitable for her and Tippy. Once she was back on her feet, Hamza began to focus on helping others get out of the situation she was in.

In 2009, Hamza’s organization, Angel Hanz For The Homeless Inc., became registered as a nonprofit organization. Hamza immediately put her plan into action. At around the same time she met a homeless couple, Peggie and Herbie, who were struggling to support themselves and their pet cat. Hamza reached out to them and Hamza bought them cat food, blankets and some clothing. She then went further to offer Peggy and Herbie work in her organization and provided them with a pay of $10 an hour and the products they needed. In a year's time the couple was on their feet and living in an apartment. "I assisted them back into the mainstream of living," she said. "It's what we do. It's not like a handout, it's a hand up."

This is only the first of many of the homeless Hamza will help. She continues to help the homeless and their animals; encouraging them to bring their animals to attend her monthly gatherings at a local park. The now vegan organization provides food, clothing, blankets and her resource guide to help the homeless get themselves and their pets back on their feet. The organization also works to assist the homeless with veterinarian services, and keep the animals out of the area's kill shelters. Angel Hanz For the Homeless provides barber services and a library. She continues to educate through speaking engagements at schools, on television and on radio shows.

Karen Hamza, with her dog Tippy

Hamza says that her own homelessness "made me want to help people all the more because I was so desperate and alone that I knew what it was like for no one to be there. My heart literally ached because no one was there for me." Today, she cares for her two rescue dogs, Jimmie and Rex, and continues to offer hope and solutions to countless homeless people and their animals, and lives by her organization's mantra, "Homeless Not Hopeless.".

Real Stories

One warm afternoon in Washington D.C., a group of my peers and I made sandwiches to go with the water and other various snacks we had to hand out to the homeless living in Dupont Circle. This was our last night of the service trip, and we were all tired from the weeks activities. Even so, myself and three others carried a cooler four blocks from where we were staying to the circle. We received looks of confusion and annoyance as we stumbled our way through the crowded sidewalk. That's the thing about helping others- sometimes you look completely ridiculous while doing it. But the feeling of accomplishment after you are complete is like no other. This feeling is what pushed us to continue walking, and finally we reached our destination. We took handfuls of food and split up into small groups, covering every area people might need us. Usually, when someone is offered food they smile and say thank you. Occasionally, you meet someone who is having a bad day, and might come off as rude. Its best to ignore people like this, as they are not bad people, just people in bad situations. But this night, I met a man like no other. This man I will remember for the rest of my life.

At first glance he didn't look special. He was tall, with dark worn skin that you could tell had been though a lot. When he smiled at us I didn't even notice the gaps where his teeth were missing at first, because his smile was so warm and inviting. We offered him a sandwich, water, and a granola bar. He gratefully accepted our offer. He asked us where we were from and who we were, like many often do and we responded with central Massachusetts, followed by our names. He corrected us after we said our names, saying "no, ya'll are godsends" He explained this as gifts from god, sent to help others. I was glad to see how happy we made him. He then asked if he could tell us his favorite prayer, and we accepted his offer. He started off by opening his arms wide and looking up to the sky, then yelled "yes lord yes lord yes lord yes lord yes lord" very fast. He then recited the prayed word for word. I didn't grow up in religious household, so this didn't effect me that much. We thanked him, and expected to move on, but he continued to talk with us. He talked about life and love, and told us his story. We wrote down some of the things he said to us, some of the quotes are "your enemies are first your friends" and "learn to love those who love you". We lost track of time talking to him, fully absorbed in his voice. Then our chaperone came over, worried because we had spent so much time with this man. He politely moved us on to the next group of people, and we soon finished handing out food.

The things this man said will remain with me for the rest of my life, and the feeling I got while talking to him is unexplainable. I hope after reading this you are driven to find this feeling, and experience it for yourself. If you have any stories about helping other please share them in the comments, I would love to read them.

How to Get Involved!

There are so many ways to help out in the fight against hunger, both nationally and in your community! Here is a list that hopefully will inspire you to get involved. :)

Volunteer: Most community kitchens and food banks are non- profit organizations that are only able to help people in need with the help of volunteers. One national food bank is Feeding America, which serves all 50 states. To find a food pantry near you that you can volunteer at, visit: http://www.feedingamerica.org/take-action/volunteer/ . I live in central Massachusetts, and there are plenty of organizations around here looking for help including Rachel's table in Worcester, the Worcester County Food Bank, and Lorraines Soup Kitchen & Pantry in Chioppee. For more information on these places click the links: http://www.rachelstable.org/, https://foodbank.org/, and http://www.lorrainessoupkitchen.com/.

Donate: In a world where everyone is constantly busy, a lot of people don't have time to volunteer, so donating canned-goods and other non-perishable foods to your local food pantry is a great easy way to help. If you live in central MA like me, see the link above for Worcester County Food Bank to find out how to donate. If you really want to get involved, ask your school to start a food drive to collect the food items and donate them to a local organization or even directly to local families.

Talk: Some of the most common stereotypes given to homeless people is that they are lazy, or addicted to drugs. Most of the time, this isn't the case. I've come to realize the homeless aren't bad people, just people in bad situations. If you see a homeless person don't just ignore them, but smile at them and start a conversation. Even if you have nothing to give, a simple conversation can have a huge impact. Who knows, they might even help you.

One of the greatest things about helping others is the impact it leaves on you. The feeling of gratitude and accomplishment after a day of volunteer work is one like no other, and if you have never felt it, I strongly encourage you too. If you have any other suggestions on ways or places to get involved please mention then in the comments!

My Last Post :(

I would fist like to thank anyone who took the time to read my blog, you guys are awesome! I also hope anyone who read a few of my articles learned something, because I know I learned a lot while writing them. Hunger is a serious problem around the world, and I strongly encourage you to get involved in the fight against it. I like to think of my blog as a way to inspire others though facts and personal stories, and I would love feedback form anyone who has read some of my posts. Please leave me a comment about which post was your favorite and which one you learned the most from.

World Hunger Facts: Causes, Effects and Solutions

This year, nearly 9 million children younger than five years old will die needlessly, more than half from hunger-related causes

Few of these deaths are related to outright starvation, but rather to common illnesses (such as diarrhea, malaria and measles) that move in on vulnerable children whose bodies have been weakened by hunger

Freedom from Hunger concentrates its services in the world's poorest nations, where an overwhelming 32% are moderately to severely stunted—seriously below normal height for one's age

In the developing world, more than 1.4 billion people currently live below the international poverty line, earning less than $1.25 per day

Among this group of poor people, many have problems obtaining adequate, nutritious food for themselves and their families. As a result, 1.02 billion people in the developing world are undernourished. They consume less than the minimum amount of calories essential for sound health and growth

Undernourishment negatively affects people’s health, productivity, sense of hope and overall well-being. A lack of food can stunt growth, slow thinking, sap energy, hinder fetal development and contribute to mental retardation

Economically, the effort of constantly securing food consumes valuable time and energy, allowing poor people less time for work and earning income

Pregnant women and new mothers who breastfeed infants and children are among the most at risk of undernourishment

The Effect of Chronic Hunger

High Infant-Mortality Rates:  Malnourished women are more likely to be sick, have smaller babies, and die earlier, resulting in high levels of infant mortality in areas where chronic hunger is a problem. And where infant and child mortality is high, birth rates are also high, locking these communities in a vicious cycle of malnutrition and death.

Vulnerability to Common Illnesses:  More than two million children die every year from dehydration caused by diarrhea. A malnourished child often lacks the strength to survive a severe case of diarrhea.

Increased Risk of Infection:  A malnourished child has a weakened immune system, making the child more vulnerable to infection. Infections cause lack of appetite and further compromise the child's ability to fight off recurrent and lingering infections.

Acute Vulnerability in Times of Disaster:  A community’s poorest families are already living on the edge of survival. Unexpected shocks, such as crop failure, floods, epidemics, locusts or typhoons result in devastation and almost certain death to some members of the family.

Impediments to Development:  Chronic hunger deprives children of the essential proteins, micronutrients and fatty acids they need to grow adequately. Globally, it is estimated that nearly 226 million children are stunted—shorter than they should be. In addition, stunted children score significantly lower on intelligence tests than do normal children.

Impediments to Economic Growth:  For the nearly 67 million children who weigh less than they should due to chronic hunger, completing school is an unlikely reality. Studies have shown that underweight children will probably spend fewer years in school, which, in turn, has a measurable impact on how much they earn in adulthood.

Inspitation

School Lunch

Many children rely on school lunches to get their nutrition for the day. At my school lunch is $3 unless you are on free and reduced lunch. Usually our lunch consists of a main item; chicken patty, pizza, etc. and two side items usually a vegetable and something else. This might seem like a balanced meal, but for someone who is at school from 7 am to 5 pm due to sports that is not enough food to tide me over for the day. This is why I chose to bring my own lunch, something I'm fortunate enough to do. But some students aren't as lucky.

For students who rely on school lunch, they aren't getting the best food. In large public schools what is served is usually based of how easy and affordable the food is. This means a lot of students aren't getting the nutrition they need from school lunch. Nutrition has a large impact on student concentration and performance. If a student doesn't like what is being served, or isn't filled by what is served, they are not going to do their best in school.

An article posted by a women who runs a blog similar to mine wrote an article comparing school lunches around the world. http://www.attn.com/stories/6085/school-lunches-around-world-compared-to-the-united-states This article shows that Americas lunches are very unhealthy and much smaller to those of school lunches around the world, I will remind you that the countries being compared to the U.S. are very similar in economic and culture.

Fast Food

One of the main reasons for child obesity and people not getting the nutrition they need is the extreme amount of fast food restaurants, where food is cheap, tastes good, and is easy to get. This problem is rapidly growing in inner cities. This large amount of fast food restaurants is linked to areas with higher rates of diabetes and other health problems.

One of the main causes of this problem is that fast food chains market their food to African American and poor children, especially males. This is seen in many fast food chains offering toys with their food, and play areas inside.

Often low-income families get fast food regularly because its so much cheaper and they cant afford the healthy food, or don't have access to a grocery store (read my post on food deserts for more info on this issue). Because children of low income families grow up eating this food, they are more likely to have health problems that are expensive, and because they are in a low income family that is less likely to get the treatment they need.

There are so many more problems created by fast food restaurants, but those are just the major ones. This can be stopped by creating easier access to affordable healthy food to minority and low income communities.

Homeless Women

This post is a collaboration with Who Rules the World, a blog about female stereotypes, roles in society, and much more.

An article posted back in October by the LA Times explains how 1 in 3 homeless people in LA are women. This number of more than 14,000 women is 55% higher than the total in 2013. Some of the reasons for this rise are due to higher rents and domestic violence. Homeless women are more likely to face violence, whether in shelters or on the streets. Half of homeless women interviewed in LA had been abused, and a quarter of them had been sexually assaulted. The programs in LA to get homeless of the street are mainly for veterans or families, there's little help for these women. Many shelters are designed for male clients, and women often feel scared or intimidated staying in them.

Feel free to read the entire article at this link http://www.latimes.com/projects/la-me-homeless-women/

Hunger in Latin America and the Caribbean

Latin America and the Caribbean are the area that has the most decrease in umbers of food insecurity. The percentage of people who are hungry fell from 14.7% in 1990-93 to 7.9% in 2010-2013.The region was the first to commit to the complete eradication of hunger through the 2025 Hunger-Free Latin America and the Caribbean Initiative (HFLACI)  This is largely in part to a staggering economic growth in the region, and to the fact that the government perceived the idea of eradicating hunger as an achievable goal. Many of the initiatives being taken in these countries are being used in other countries now. The Food and Agriculture Organization is closely watching the strategies being used in this area, and trying to get other countries to be like them.

Inspiration

Hunger Close to Home

As a Massachusetts residents I'm very concerned about the people living in poverty in my state. For most Massachusetts residents struggling with hunger they have a job and make enough money to pay for things like rents or electricity, but struggle to provide food for themselves or their family. This is in large part due to the recession in 2008. One statistic that I find makes this concept easier to understand is from a quote posted by Project Bread on their website. "In 2003, almost everybody who was working forty hours a week in Massachusetts could expect to earn enough to cover the basics: food on the table and a roof overhead. Only those who were not working, the elderly, and those with chronic disabilities were the faces of hunger in our state. But the Great Recession–and the attendant increase in income inequality–changed that. By 2014, a second and distinct population–low-wage workers–significantly added to the ranks of households that struggle to put food on the table. Today, the rate of household food insecurity is 71% higher than it was a decade ago, with no sign of improvement."

Someone who works full time shouldn't be struggling to put food on the table for their family, and Project Bread has come up with ways to help stop this. First we need to realize that the people who need help should be treated with respect, not pity. We need to tech families to cook meals that are healthy and affordable. Low-cost breakfast and lunch served to children at school would also be a big help to many families. Food pantries should be set up across the state in case of an emergency where a family can no longer afford food. Lastly, we need to stand up for low-wage workers and their right to be able to afford food.

Real Stories

As I talk about in many of my stories, last summer I went on a service trip to Washington D.C. to help the homeless and those living in poverty. This post isn't really to tell you a story that is inspiring and influence you to volunteer, but to warn you about something that could happen while working with the homeless and how to get yourself out of this situation. One warm night in D.C. I went out and volunteered at McKenna's Wagon, a truck that travels around the city to feed the homeless. I have never worked with this particular organizations, but it was similar to ones I've worked at in the past so I wasn't very nervous. But in the middle of my service, things changed.

At the beginning everything was fine. I was ladling the soup into boxes that they could take, then handing them a spoon and a napkin. Like most service projects it became routine. Occasionally someone would ask me my name or about my day, and I would respond casually with a smile. But one man kept trying to talk to me. He said that I had a beautiful smile. At first I was flattered and thanked him for his kind words, but then it became weird. He said how I should be in the movies in Hollywood, and that he would take me there. It was clear to the person supervising that I had become uncomfortable, so she yelled at the man to go away and had me go back in the van to make sandwiches. I don't want you to think that this happens al the time, because in my multiple service projects I have only felt scared this once. Like in all aspects in life you meet people that aren't always who you should help.

If you are ever in this situation where you feel uncomfortable you should get out of it immediately. This is also another reason you should never go out alone, because you never know who you might encounter. I was lucky to have someone there who knew how to handle the situation, and I want everyone else to also have that. My blog is to encourage you to help others, but to also make sure you are safe while doing so.

Helping the Homeless

Recently in my journalism class we had a project to make short documentaries. One group made theirs on the homeless in America. I will post the link to the documentary below, and I encourage you to watch it. I will warn you that its very sad, but its also very eye opening. The video has many personal stories of homeless people making it very true, but also many statistics making it very factual. After you watch it be sure to leave your thoughts on it in the comments!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fowasp3_Qiw&t=326s

*Special thanks to the creators of this documentary :)