By Kassondra Granata
We all have seen them. Different signs, commercials, and other forms of advertising flash before our eyes on a daily basis. We discuss it in classrooms, lunch breaks, or daily conversations. World hunger and topics relating to it are very common. There any many different statistics that pop out at as that make us cringe in discomfort.
According to worldhunger.org, in 2010 there were over 925 million people that were suffering from starvation. Out of the estimated seven billion people in the world, 13.1 percent or 1 out of 7 people are hungry. When one turns on the television or the radio, there are different spokespeople flashing horrific images of malnutritioned children and families. According to a finding by Hunger Notes, malnutrition affects 32.5 percent of children in developing countries. more than 70 percent of malnourished children live in Asia, 26 percent in Africa and 4 percent in Latin America and the Caribbean.
Poverty is one of the main causes of hunger. As of 2008, the World Bank has estimated that there were 1,345 million poor people in developing countries who live on $1.25 a day or less. Seeing and hearing these statistics are not easy, especially when Americans live such a worry-free lifestyle when it comes to feeding ourselves. It is difficult not to see and hear about this issue without getting emotional, and wanting to help as much as you possibly can. I recently discovered this amazing website that gives one the opportunity to contribute the fight to end world hunger with just a click of your mouse and a little bit of intellectual ability.
FreeRice.com is a non-profit website that is owned by and supports the United Nations World Food Program. According to its website, it has two goals. One is to provide education to everyone for free, and the second is to end world hunger by providing rice to hungry people for free. The website is sponsored by advertising companies. It is absolutely brilliant.
On this website, the user has the ability to choose from a variety of different subjects. Humanities, English, Math, Sciences and even SAT Test Preparation are a few. When you click on a subject and a sub topic, you are instantly quizzed on that subject and go through the levels. For every answer you get correct, the website donates 10 grains of rice to help end world hunger. You are able to create a free account and keep track of the grains of rice you donated.
It is a really neat concept. It is a free online learning tool and while you are learning, you are saving lives by donating grains of rice. The website first went live on October 7, 2007 with 830 grains of rice donated on its first day. By 2010, its popularity increased and the UN World Food Program launched a new version, “Freerice 2.0” with social networking, groups, rankings and achievements. In 2011, Freerice launched different language versions including Spanish, French, Italian, Chinese, and Korean enabling people all over the world to participate. In the first ten months of operation, Freerice donated over 42 billion grains of rice. The United Nation’s World Food Program stated that this amount could feed 50,000 people for one day, since it takes 400 grams or about 19,200 grains of rice, to feed one adult for a day.
This is absolutely phenomenal. It is shocking that this website was not discovered on my part up until a week ago. Since then, I have been on it constantly, taking on new subjects and feeling more accomplished than ever before. What makes it an impressive website is that it is sponsored by advertisers and their revenue goes towards these donations. No matter what, we are contributing to this cause and saving lives. Make an account and make a difference.