Inspiring Teenager - Feast or Famine

Guest Post: The following article has been written by a young 17 year old girl, Rachel Moore, who is passionate about reducing the incidence of obesity in Australia.  She is also concerned for people who are starving in Ethiopia.  Rachel, confronted by the dichotomy of the situation, decided to embark on the 40Hour famine to fundraise for families and communities in Ethiopia.

Her hard hitting article raises awareness of increasing levels of obesity in Australia and also highlights the plight of starving families in Ethiopia.

 For many years now there has been a rising concern about weight gain, unhealthy eating and lack of exercise. Data from the Australian Bureau of Statistics indicates that in Australia in 1995, 56% of Adults in the country were classified as overweight or obese, and then in late 2007 to early 2008, that number rose to 61%.

So I guess the real question is why Australia is eating itself to death when there are so many people around the world dying because they can’t get enough food.  We can decide how much food we ingest but so many people don’t have that same choice that we do. That’s why this year I’ve decided to participate in the 40 hour famine and go almost 2 days without food to experience just 40hours of what a large percentage of people in Ethiopia are experiencing every single day. As well as this I’ve decided to go the 40hours without talking so that my dear friends and family don’t have to listen to my complaints about being hungry. My goal for sponsorship is to reach at least $1000, these funds go towards the 40hour famine charity which puts the money towards Ethiopia to build new irrigation schemes to water crops and fruit trees, to improve farming techniques, to provide support to raise dairy cows, chickens and other livestock and beehives to produce honey to eat and sell. The official 40hour famine guide states that just $40 can help feed a family of 5 for a month. Just imagine the impact that $1000 could have. When you think about it, a whole family could eat for a month with the money you would spend on 2 or 3 fast food meals. So ask yourself this, is it really worth spending all that money on something that’s slowly killing Australians with calories or would you rather spend the money on benefitting others less privileged?

Thank you for taking the time to read this article.  If you would like to sponsor me in the 40Hour Famine you can donate to my account.  Simply go to this link Sponsor Rachel and press the donate button. 

Thank you, Rachel for your inspiring article.  I wish you well in your fundraising.