End Hunger-Walk The World on 7 June 2009

End Hunger: Walk the World on Sunday 7th June 2009
Will your Club participate? - Article by Else Larsen, SI Representatative the UN in Rome-FAO ( UN Agency -Food and Agriculture Organization)

(Today is International Women's Day- I have published many articles from CSW this past week- and thought that the issue of poverty and hunger would resonate with Soroptimists . I was one of the lucky people whose mother always had enough food available for the 6 children and two parents in the family. My parents weren't rich by some standards but with the thrifty behavior of my mother- were able to stretch a little food into hardy meals. Billions of people today do not have enough food in their stomachs- women and children representing over 70 % of that number. This article presents another opportunity that we have to join with partners around the world and focus on an issue that clearly is one that women must expose- poverty.......Dawn Marie Lemonds)

On Sunday 7th June 2009 the whole world will once again be on the move. Within 24 hours and in all 24 time zones, thousands of people will put on their walking shoes and join in a five kilometer walk to campaign against poverty and hunger.

Did you know that:

· More than 800 million people in the world do not get enough to eat, most of them are women and children.
· Almost 200 million children under five years of age are underweight due to a lack of food
· Malnutrition in children causes mental retardation and physical stunting
· One child dies every seven seconds from hunger and related causes
· For only US$ 50 per year (or 25 cents a day) you can fill a plate of nutritious porridge for a needy child in school.
· You can help to End Hunger by organizing a walk against hunger on 7th June 2009

End Hunger - Walk the World is a global event initiated in 2003 by TNT, a global mail and logistics company, in partnership with the United Nations World Food Programme (WFP). TNT and WFP works together with FAO and many NGOs to help raise awareness about poverty and hunger in the world and raise funds for WFP supported school feeding programmes in the poorest countries. School feeding programmes are a powerful way of reducing child hunger and increasing the enrollment of more children, and particularly girls, in primary schools, which is part of our SI Programme Focus 2007-2011 and the corresponding Millennium Development Goals.

Will your club participate?
To find out how to organize a ‘’Walk’’ visit http://www.wfp.org/ Next click “How to Help” - next “For Individuals” and you will find “Walk the World” and “How to find out More” This website will be updated regularly so keep an eye on it. There may also be a WFP Office in your own country or region which you can contact directly. To organize a ‘’Walk’’ is easy and a lot of fun – and, remember, your Club will be encouraging many more children, and specially girls, from poor countries, to attend school and help them fight hunger pains and concentrate on their studies.


To find out how to join or how to organize a ‘’walk’’ get in touch with WFP Headquarters in Rome by email: WFP.Walk_the_World@wfp.org and to learn more about this years Walk the World activities look up http://www.wfp.org/ I strongly encourage you to get involved. To organize a ‘’Walk’’ is easy and a lot of fun – and, remember, your Club will be helping many more children, and specially girls, from poor countries, to enroll in school and to complete primary school.