Thoughts on the Action Center

Last week, Robert Sherman gave an intriguing talk that detailed the role and function of the Action Center to Eliminate World Hunger. It was quite an eye-opening experience because normally when you think of hunger, you think that its due to a shortage of food, maybe because of land that’s not arable. However, this is hardly the case. Not many people relate hunger to important issues like climate change, energy, war, and health. For example, there are areas of the world where large swaths of land that were previously used to grow crops have been flooded due to rising water levels. Nations in Africa that suffer from the scourge of war have fighters going around destroying farms in order to harm the other side. Diseases like AIDS leave nations depleted of human capital so there can’t be any production and growth. All of these issues create hunger and any campaign that wishes to address hunger on this scale must address all of these issues. Robert Sherman’s presentation helped us understand the link between the various issues and world hunger.

The Action Center itself is a unique place because it collaborates with many other organizations. Many organizations out there see themselves as competition with other institutions that are trying to reach the same goal. The Action Center facilitates Mercy Corps actions and helps other organizations that are having impact in another area. Their system which asks you how much time you want to give (a minute to a lifetime) is also an amazing way to get people to read how they can make an impact. It works.

A key point to take away from the visit would be that addressing one issue will have a ripple effect on other areas as well. For example, if you want to end hunger, you don’t need to start a campaign to distribute free food. Helping an organizing or starting an organization that is helping war victims rebuild their lives or an organization that is trying to stop a disease that kills hundreds of thousands of people will also result in impact.