THE WORLD HUNGER

THE WORLD HUNGER 

What you can see through the picture above?

Perhaps among you will say that the picture above it looks like 'toyol' and may also have among you who feel disgust, sympathy and others. The picture above, is a picture of a boy who suffered from extreme hunger. Try you imagine, if the child is you. Are you willing to endure and have a high resilience to survive. Therefore, we should be thankful that we are born in a country that is peaceful and does not suffer from hunger.   
   Here, I've included a bit of info about the poor countries that suffer from extreme hunger:



Malnuration

·         In 2008, nearly 9 million children died before they reached their fifth birthday. One third of these deaths are due directly or indirectly to hunger and malnutrition. Malnutrition is not having enough nourishing food, with adequate amounts of protein, vitamins, minerals and calories to support physical and mental growth and development. Children who survive early childhood malnutrition suffer irreversible harm—including poor physical growth, compromised immune function, and impaired cognitive ability.

·         Around the world, 178 million children under 5 are stunted, low height for age. Of all stunted children, 90 percent live in just 36 countries, most of them in sub-Saharan Africa and South and Central Asia.

·         In countries with high levels of childhood malnutrition, the economic loss can be as high as 2-3 percent of GDP.

HUNGER AND POVERTY

- Despite years of progress against hunger, in 2010, it is estimated that 925 million people suffer from hunger. This is due to a sudden spike in global food prices and the onset of a world-wide economic crisis. 

- In 2005, the latest year for which data is available, 1.4 billion people in developing countries lived in extreme poverty, or on less than $1.25 a day, down from 1.9 billion in 1981.

                   Haiti is one of the countries suffering from extreme hunger.

  Poverty, malnutrition, high food prices, hurricanes and now an earthquake. Here are ten facts that give the measure of the hunger crisis facing Haiti, an nation which was already struggling to feed itself even before the earthquake. 

1.     Assessments show that 3 million peoplemay need humanitarian relief, including food assistance, in the wake of the earthquake.

2.     Even before the quake, 1.9 million people were ‘food insecure’, meaning they needed assistance to stave off hunger.

3.     Only 50 percent of Haiti population has access to safe drinking water.

4.     Some 55 percent of Haiti’s 9 million people live below the poverty line of US$1 a day.

5.     Rural households spend almost 60 percent of their income on food; the poorest groups spend more than 70 percent.

6.     Chronic malnutrition affects 24 percent of children under five, rising as high as 40 percent in the poorest zones.

7.     Poor diet means many women and children suffer from micronutrient deficiencies. Anaemia affects 59 percent of children between the ages of six months and 5 years.

8.     During 2008, high food and fuel prices triggered violent demonstrations and political upheaval.

9.     In the same year, three hurricanes and one tropical storm struck Haiti, killing 800 people, destroying 27,000 homes and raising the general level of hunger.

10.   Food prices have declined since September 2008, but remain higher than the four-year average.

          What is our social responsibility to help ease the world     hunger?????

                 There are several ways that we can do and take action of our daily lives to help some of the countries that experience extreme hunger. Among them is to reduce excessive food intake. As we can see today, developed countries and developing countries, there are many people suffering from obesity. By reducing the amount of food intake, we can store excess stock of food to be donated to poor countries. In addition, we must play a role in helping them to donate money, at least a little money each. This can help them to buy nutritious food. In addition, the transmission volunteer doctor there also helps the people who suffer from a shortage of doctors to seek treatment. This is because in addition to food, they also can not afford to buy medical supplies. With the help of volunteer doctors, it can reduce the number of deaths.

How do we celebrate Independence Day?

1.       By joining Jabatan Pertahanan Awam (JPAM).

·         During our time at JPAM training centre, we being given a lot of information about our own country, Malaysia. So that, make us feel so grateful as our country had being released from all imperialists, and now we are ‘Merdeka’.

2.       By visiting our National Monument.

·         This were helping us a lot to recall back all the memories during the time before we get independence. This also make our love towards Malaysia grew much more.

3.       By watching patriotic movies, such as Embun, Leftenan Adnan, Paloh and many more.

4.       By singing full of emotion when singing a patriotic song, such as, Tanggal 31 Ogos, Jalur Gemilang, Keranamu Malaysia and many more.

How do we show your patriotism to our beloved country. Malaysia?

1.       By attending National Service course

·         The young citizens will have a better and deeper knowledge and eventually they will respect others people customs. Thus by respecting the uniqueness of every culture, this helps us promote racial solidarity and enhance national unity.

2.       By singing Negaraku song during assembly.

·         Although it was a simple action, however it would be a great way to show our devotion to Malaysia.

3.        By raising our Malaysia flag.

·         This will shows that we are proud to be Malaysian.

4.       Although a student further their study overseas, they need to come back to Malaysia, to serve for our country.

·         We are Malaysian; it is our responsible to make Malaysia to be one of the top countries someday. 

It is probably a reasonable assumption that each of you reading this has seen the newest South Korean pop hit“Gangnam Style” by PSY. If you have not, immediately put your tray away, leave the dining hall, head back to your dorm and look it up on YouTube. For those still reading without proper context, the song was released in America in late July. Since then, it has racked up an astounding 75 million hits on YouTube. With a catchy beat and fantastic accompanying dance moves, the song is being hailed as the first South Korean hit to make it in America.

For those unfamiliar with the song (and accompanying video), it follows PSY around Seoul as he searches for a girlfriend who has class but isn’t afraid to let her hair down when the time is right. The style he is looking for reflects the lifestyle of people in the Gangnam Province of Seoul, the ritzy, upscale section of the capital, hence the title . For reference, seven percent of all the wealth in South Korea is located in this 15-square-mile area. Throughout the video,PSY dances around a number of locations in Seoul, becoming involved in several dance battles before finding the kind of girl he is looking for. But within the video, masked by high energy dancing and comic relief, lies a deeper commentary no one would expect out of such a silly song and dance number.

The Atlantic was the first publication to note the socio-economic commentary played out in the music video in its article“Gangnam Style, Dissected: The Subversive Message Within South Korea’s Music Video Sensation.” Throughout the video, PSY constantly sings about the actions of the men and women from the Gangnam province: how they drink expensive coffee, live lavish lifestyles and go to only the classiest of places. However, in his video, he is in the sauna not with businessmen, but with gangsters. His party bus is actually full of old tourists and disco balls. He even meets the girl of his dreams, not in a dance club or ballroom, but on the subway. When he is shown on the beach with girls, it turns out that he is simply at a children’s playground in a beach chair.

This mockery of the Gangnam lifestyle serves to show that it is overrated; while many South Koreans dream of living a life of excess, PSY points out wealth isn’t all that will make you happy. After all, he does get the girl in the end. This is contrasted with American music videos, where the singer is often at parties and in expensive clothes, surrounded by beautiful women as cash falls down from the ceiling.

The culture surrounding music itself was also parodied. The Atlantic noted PSY also makes subtle jokes about the music industry. One scene involves him parading down a hallway with two models as trash blows in their faces, clearly a parody of the classic red carpet and confetti scene of the rich and famous. These events always occur whilePSY is dressed to the nines, wearing a fashionable outfit, a suit or even a tuxedo.

While K-Pop (Korean Pop Music) is apparently not big on social commentary, PSY likely drew from his exposure to American culture during his schooling in the United States. For years, music has been used to express what the artist cannot put into words and has long provided social, political and economic commentary. In recent times, however, artists that produce songs wrought with commentary never take themselves too seriously. PSY certainly doesn’t. Look at Macklemore, for example. Macklemore writes songs with powerful messages like the growing effect of consumerism (“Wings”), drug use, (“Otherside”), crime (“Soldiers”) and even politics (“The Bush Song”), and then comes out with songs like “And We Danced” and “Thrift Shop.” These songs are wildly entertaining and also expose a different audience to his deeper songs. These artists continue to create moving messages and call attention to many issues not seen in the mainstream news by the general public.

 

Perhaps this is exactly what the public needs, powerful messages delivered in such a way that they stick. While a poster or article will influence you for as long as you read it, a song you play a dozen times a week will be more likely to stay with you. And, as long as PSY keeps dancing his way to a better tomorrow, he’s going to have quite a few supporters along the way.