A decent provision for the poor is a true test of civilization. -Samuel Johnson
My name is Brandt Russo. I have a tshirt company called Cant Ignore The Poor. I know some people would say that I do alot for our brothers and sisters struggling through poverty. I feel as though I should try to do more. Its time to put a face on and give a voice to the 30,000 estimated invisible children who die every day of hunger. Im going to go on a hunger strike to raise awareness and the much needed funds for these children. Ive decided not to eat again starting Sunday, December 6th, until I can raise $15,500 to help Ryan Alexander of Not Fashionable in his quest to end hunger by us helping him provide medicine to deworm 1,000,000 children. (For starters).
Dollar-Medication Ratio (every little bit TRULY does help)
$1 - 67
$5 - 333
$10 - 667
$15 - 968
$50 - 3,333
$100 - 6,667
$300 - 20,000
$500 - 33,333
$1,000 - 66,667
$2,500 - 147,058
$5,000 - 322,580
$15,500 - 1,000,000
(Ryan also does things in Swaziland like creating and educating people on practical ways of producing food, teach sustainable techniques for agriculture, providing sources of clean drinking water, putting clothes on the naked, putting shoes on the feet of children and getting involved on the community level in areas of education.)
The World Health Organization states that intestinal parasites eat up to 20% of a child’s nutritional intake a day. Ridding these children of these parasitic worms, in most instances, is the determining factor between life and death. Child malnutrition usually leads to them having very weak immune systems, anemia, essential vitamin deficiency lifelessness, depression, etc. and parasite worms only prove to exacerbate the problem.
Getting rid of the parasites isnt the ONLY answer to the problem, but its a huge piece of the puzzle to ending hunger. The de-worming pill, only 1.7 cents a piece, is able to rid a child of their parasites. Every dollar donated is the equivalency of adding 200 pounds of food aid into a community. Studies have shown a 41% drop in the infant mortality rate of mothers who took the pills before childbirth. Other studies found that anti-parasite treatment can reduce the malnutrition of a child by 62% and reduce their anemia by 59%.
In the words of Ryan -
The UN estimates that between 26,500 and 30,000 children die of hunger and preventable dieases everyday. Hunger. Not war, not natural disaster. Hunger. Totally treatable, clearly curable and absolutely preventable. When the UN says that up to 30,000 children die of hunger everyday, they are only talking about kids five and younger. But we let it happen. They don’t get a mention in the obituaries or make headline news. They die silent, painful, lonely deaths. They die off camera and in the poorest places on earth.
We can change this. You can bring change. We don’t have to let this sort of thing happen. The point is not to guilt people into pinching a couple pennies so that we can let ourselves off the hook. The point is to restore humanity to these children. To let them die like this, night after night, is saying something about the way we view life and people. We aren’t talking about making everyone rich or inventing a new concept. We are talking about equality and compassion. We wouldn’t let our own brothers and sisters starve to death if it was within our power to save them. Know that it is.
And they say that apathy never killed anyone. So think. Think about how blessed you are. Don’t forget that justice and mercy are at the very center of why you are the way you are. Remember that anytime you have a conversation about these kinds of things that you are actively making someone aware of something that they cannot ignore. Always remember that you are fighting for the people who aren’t going to make you famous or rich, but people whose hope you are restoring. God is on the move.
Im not even asking for you to feed them, but to help fight their hunger by getting rid of the intestinal parasites that steal most of their nutrition. Gandhi said that there is enough for everyones need, but not enough for everyones greed. There is a major problems in the world, and its time we start collectively knocking them out one by one. Its my hopes that through this, we can begin to realize that we are all created in the image of God, from the richest of Americas movie stars to the poorest of Africas orphans. I can no longer sit around knowing that these diseases are, for the most part, preventable. Its time for equality. We are all VERY CAPABLE to make a change. For the price of a Starbucks latte, you could deworm an entire school. Its time to put a face on these angels that die without a chance to truly live.
I will stand in solidarity with these starving children, feel their hunger pains, and pray that hearts change and folks decide to get involved. If youre able to give, give. If not, share this story with someone else. Its time we realize we are all a part of the restoration process that is changing this world.
When I first got to gardner webb, I was a little intimidated by its 'prestige', but found yet again that you can never judge the people of a compound by the compound itself. Every 'warzone' is home to real people. Families, kids, grandmothers. Not only terrorist. Im not saying that Gardner Webb is a 'warzone', but that its (what seemed to me at the time as overindulgent) landscaping and brick buildings took me aback at first, only to be taken aback yet again by its people and the beauty found in their stories and lives. My stigmas are being broken left and right.
The discussion time was so fantastic. I am loving that this film is seeming to create environments conducive to free thought and conversation. A place where every opinion is freely welcomed and honored. I think one of the biggest reasons for the chasm we see in the church is due to a lack of communication. There is such a pride in the church, and that spirit has to be broken and deconstructed. We have to become a people who learn to disagree well, and in love. Most of the reasons there is such an ignorance in our lives is because we are terrified in sounding and being 'wrong'. As finite as our minds are, who TRULY incarnates the 'truth' apart from God? Its time to start talking about the 'tough stuff', because the root of loving our neighbor is knowing them and understanding their hearts. We have to begin to love one another, not only in word, but in deed.
I stayed in that lounge after the Q&A until about 5am talking with some of those students. Most of them didn't want to go to sleep that night feeling the apathy they have felt the night before. I honor that sort of desire. The bible says that those who diligently seek God, find God. There is no better time to begin seeking Him then now. Jesus said that His yoke is easy and His burden is light. That burden only becomes light when it begins to be shared. Its time to bear our hearts to one another. The time for change is now.
Pittsburgh was a pleasure. I hosted a screening at the "Hot Metal Bridge Faith Community". After the film, we prayed and cried together and spent lots of time sorting out fears and insecurities and answering questions that most of us never allowed ourselves to ask. The southside is a beautiful place. For all the old church buildings that have been converted into hotels, houses, and even bars, its amazing to see an old bar converted into a 'church'. God is moving in such amazing ways. 
