Food for Life

It was a cold October morning. I did not have to wake up early for school because our school was closed for the winter vacation. The morning was very peaceful and the birds were welcoming a new day with their joyous songs. I woke up and opened my window. The cool breeze entered my room just as I opened my window.

As I glanced out, I saw an old man walking with his stick shivering in the cold. Someone should have helped him. I felt like helping him but I could not. My mom had warned me not to speak to strangers. He did not even have a sweater on him to stay warm. Poor man!

After some time, my mom called me down for breakfast. I had my breakfast and just as I was about to go for a walk, I saw my sister throwing a packet of biscuits in the dust bin. I scolded her. “Why are you wasting those biscuits?” I said.

“I don’t care, I just hate these biscuits,” she shouted.

I was upset but decided to go for the walk. On the street, I saw two children sitting on a bench at the footpath in the corner of the street and shivering. When I asked, I found out that they were lost and could not find their family and were very hungry. I checked my pockets and found Rs 15. I asked them to come with me to the bakery where I bought biscuits for them. They were very thankful and I was happy I could help them.

The next month, I went to school and was very pleased to meet my friends after such a long time. During lunch break, I saw one of my classmates throw food in the dustbin. I advised her not to throw the food in the dustbin but she paid no heed to my words at all. Instead, she said that her mom would be very upset if she saw her tiffin box full. Moreover, she did not like the dish her mother prepared. That day I felt very sorry for the people who did not have food to eat.

People are lost from their families and do not have food or water and sometimes even die because of hunger. According to the Malaysia-based non-profit Food Aid Foundation, 79.5 crore people in the world do not have enough food to lead a healthy active life. That's about one in nine people on Earth. They are so poor that they can’t afford to buy a packet of biscuits, forget affording a full meal. If we can’t help people in our own country, how will we ever help the people around the world? If we all keep wasting food, soon we won’t have any food left for human beings in the world and we all will have to find alternatives to quench our thirst and hunger.