hunger for change

today as i was leaving a meeting, i walked into the Fastathon. it is a event organized by the muslim students association and exactly the type of event i hope to see for |make change|.

it is partially raising awareness for ramadan, but it is really meant to raise money and awareness for hunger and poverty groups. i think its a great event that gets people thinking about how lucky we are to have food when we want, when we choose. eating is a luxury; most days we do it without a second thought. reaching into our cupboards for another bowl of cereal, or to whip up some pasta it slips our mind the privalege we are about to recieve. despite the debt, students and adults are afforded the credit to pay for what we need, and then we turn around and refuse to help those with even less than us.

and i know that many of the people that ask for money, may not use it for what they suggest, or what we hope it is for. but how can we continue in a culture that destroys hope for these people, and then pats itself on the back for the feeble 'solutions' that are out there. if nothing else can we not even afford to give them dignity to talk to them and excuse ourselves.

"Being unwanted, unloved, uncared for, forgotten by everybody, I think that is a much greater hunger, a much greater poverty than the person who has nothing to eat." - mother teresa

i think there is a lot of hunger in our city, whether it is those in streets or sitting in class next to us. there are a lot of ways that we can change in the way we treat each that would make a huge difference. can you think of what they are?