day twenty-nine: chicks

I'm always conflicted about giving money to organizations to fight hunger. I want to help, but whatever I do seems like a band-aid on a gaping wound. Sure, my $5 will feed this hungry child this week...but what about next week? Even some of the stuff we've done over these past twenty-eight days have seemed that way - a quick fix, one-time help. But what about the ongoing problem of hunger?

It's an issue that must be addressed at a systemic level. Buying lunch for a homeless person one day at a time is not going to solve the complex problems of third-world economics, food distribution, and the like. But that's not to say that there aren't sustainable and effective ways to combat world hunger. Today we found one such way.

Chicks.

This is what I like to think our chicks looked like.

We bought a flock of chicks through Heifer International, an organization that provides animals to people in poverty around the globe. (Check out our certificate of awesomeness!) Each animal can offer multiple ways to help bring income and/or food to the family that receives it. For instance, the chicks we bought are easy and inexpensive to keep, provide protein-packed eggs to eat, share, or sell, and help control insects and fertilize gardens.

There's no profound meaning to this entry, no quasi-reflective or semi-contemplative point. I just hope that what we participated in today was a sustainable (albeit, small) way to fight global hunger.