Mind Soup

You may have seen the pictures of starving people in the Horn of Africa on your TV screens. We are all asking: how can this be happening again? Parts of Somalia, Kenya and Ethiopia are facing one of the worst droughts for 60 years, and around 10 million people are desperately in need of food, clean water and basic sanitation. Join me in calling on world leaders to save millions of lives - today and tomorrow: http://act.one.org/sign/horn_of_africa/?source=horncrisistafem Despite the urgency of the situation, most world leaders are responding too slowly. Immediate aid is essential. Yet at the same time we must not let them drop the ball on long term solutions as has too often happened in the past. Take action right now at: http://act.one.org/sign/horn_of_africa/?source=horncrisistafem We can help stop starvation now - and stop the causes of starvation. Firstly, we need to make sure funding is provided to pay for urgent help that will prevent people from dying. Secondly, the...

MIND SOUP : So today, October 15, is Blog Action Day 2010 . The theme this year is water . As I live in a country where water is theoretically abundant, I, as many other Lebanese, may not feel the urge to conserve water or use it wisely. But as I watch TV and read bloggers posts from other countries, I have become more aware of the critical water situation the world is facing. After enrolling as a blogger against hunger for the United Nations World Food Programme and engaging more into the world blogosphere, I was shocked to know that around 4.500 children die daily from water related diseases and that a almost a billion people on Earth don't have access to clean and safe drinking water ! Since then I realized that there are so many things with our water consumption in Lebanon. We take hour-long showers, flood our houses to get them cleaned, stare at the open faucet while brushing our teeth, and use excessive amounts of water to irrigate our flowers and plants. But the most un...

I received this message today from the U.N. World Food Programme and I thought I would share it with my readers, especially those in the UK. This event will occur in London on July 2, so if you are there, make sure you give it a shot.  Hi Bloggers, On July 2, we will be hosting a one day event in London along with Reuters AlertNet to chew over how hunger is reported. Our executive director Josette Sheeran will give a keynote speech, followed by four panel discussions exploring hot issues including the challenges of operating in violent contexts like Somalia and the future of food aid. Participants will include WFP staff, prominent media commentators, senior representatives from British-based non-governmental organisations (NGOs) and think-tanks, and journalists who specialise in humanitarian stories. If you are in London and would like to attend, contact me on  abby.ravera@wfp.org  or  39 06 65131 (ext. 2043 ). Please feel free to pass this on to ...

Today in Operations Management class, the professor showed us a video called "The Hidden Face of Globalization". This video shows how humans are abused in developing countries by western corporations to do all the labor is sweat-shop conditions, violence and being paid less 3-5 dollars per week. Off course, in class we were focusing on the business concept of sweat-shops, the efficiency, the processes, the decisions, etc.. but we did not focus on the ethical perspective. I thought it would be very interesting to share this video with my readers to make them aware of what goes on in the world. This should make you think twice before buying a standardized product from your favorite brand company. [If you are viewing this post via Google Buzz,  click here  to see the video]

Put pressure on politicians to end hunger. Sign the petition, and push for action wherever you are. [If you are viewing this post via Google Buzz,  click here  to see the video] Join me and around 130,000 people to put pressure on our useless politicians in hopes of taking action about the 1 billion starving humans in the world. If you care just a little bit, if you belong to this race, if you have humane blood rushing through your veins, you should take action. It is not these people's faults that they were born in poor countries, it is not their faults that their natural resources are being abused by western governments and corporation, it is not their faults that their governments are not taking care of them. The least you can do is sign the petition. Click here to join my path towards aiding in spreading awareness and pressuring those in power to help. God bless you all.

Put on your walking shoes and join us on June 6th when we Walk the World to fight hunger. This is an annual global event to raise awareness and funds for WFP’s efforts to end child hunger and malnutrition. Hundreds of thousands of people in more than 200 countries in the world will walk 5 kilometers to show their support and take a stand against child hunger. The walk takes place across a 24-hour time span, in 70 countries around the world, with over 360,000 people walking five kilometers. It begins in Auckland, New Zealand and finishes in Samoa. Last year, enough money was raised to provide school meals for one year to more than 20 thousand children in the world's poorest countries. At walktheworld.wfp.org you can find out if there’s a walk near you, create your own walk, or join our virtual walk. Unfortunately, there is not walk in Lebanon. The closest walk is in Jordan :( This is a sticky post. All new posts before June 7 will appear below it.

Since Mind Soup is part of the Bloggers Against Hunger program hosted by the World Food Programme, and because of the current tragic circumstances in Haiti, I am sharing the below as means for anyone who is able to donate and contribute to save lives of people there. A massive earthquake hit Haiti late Tuesday, killing hundreds of people and wounding many more. The quake, measuring 7 on the Richter scale, has caused widespread damage in and around the capital Port-au-Prince, leaving a large number of people homeless and hungry. The people of Haiti need food assistance as quickly as possible to prevent hunger worsening the misery already caused by the disaster. This is said to be Haiti's worst quake in two centuries. Every hour we wait means more lives are at risk.  Donate now by clicking here!

  A massive 7.0-magnitude earthquake has struck the Caribbean nation of Haiti. The extent of the devastation is still unclear but there are fears thousands of people may have died. Haiti's worst quake in two centuries hit south of the capital Port-au-Prince on Tuesday, wrecking the presidential palace, UN HQ and other buildings. A "large number" of UN personnel were reported missing by the organisation. Many people have spent the night outside amid fears of more aftershocks. The Red Cross says up to three million people have been affected. Describing the earthquake as a "catastrophe", Haiti's envoy to the US said the cost of the damage could run into billions. A number of nations, including the US, UK and Venezuela, are gearing up to send aid. The quake, which struck about 15km (10 miles) south-west of Port-au-Prince, was quickly followed by two strong aftershocks of 5.9 and 5.5 magnitude. The tremor hit at 1653 (2153 GMT) on Tuesday, the US Geo...

Dear All, I was recently informed that my blog is featured on the World Food Programme website for being a blogger against hunger . Here is the link if you want to check it out. Below is the list of other blogs that are bloggers against hunger. (If you're a Blogger against Hunger too, tell them by adding a link to it in the comments section here .) Doerr BlogCritics Blogger - William Lambers Javaholic Market Share - Belinda Ang Pimp that Food To Think and Act Lights, Wings, Flight cheliuta In Between the Lines The Runaway Spoon Lilolu SkyPilot Project Dandine Trophico SEO Blog Letter box - Shelby Blitz Climate for Change - Jenny Downes Imagination - Ming Zhe Blog from our Kitchen Fatamas Never be Silent - Cara O'Brien Global Epiphany Better Now - Christina Just Trying to Help - Charlie eHands - Jean Rocha International Transactions - Bernard Macdougall Soul1383 Numb Mind Soup Eve Butterflies JaBig