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On the first day of June 2008, at 6 a.m., concerned groups in the
Philippines will gather at the open field of Bonifacio Global City
in Taguig for ‘End Hunger: Walk the World’ global effort.
End Hunger: Walk the World 2008 rallies
thousands of people around the world to walk across 24 time zones
within 24 hours to put an end to child hunger.
All of this began with Peter Bakker who dreamed
of starting a massive global effort to eradicate child hunger.
Bakker, then newly appointed chief executive
officer of global express service giant TNT, was on a flight bound
for Sydney, Australia when he chanced upon a magazine article that
changed his life forever. According to the article, somewhere in
this world a child dies every five seconds due to hunger. The sad
part is, these children are not dying due to lack of food. In fact,
there is enough food to feed the hungry. The problem is that food
does not get to places where it’s needed the most.
Bakker felt that as a company specializing in
express service delivery, TNT is in a unique position to help solve
the problem. Following that memorable flight, he got in touch with
the United Nations World Food Program (WFP) to discuss how TNT can
help the agency in getting food to the hungry. On September 2,
2002, during the World Summit on Sustainable Development in
Johannesburg, South Africa, Bakker and WFP Executive Director James
Morris signed a letter of intent highlighting the partnership
between TNT and WFP, called “Moving the World.”
From the initial dream of bringing relief to the
hungry, Moving the World emerged as a partnership thoroughly
involved in disaster preparedness, knowledge sharing, food and
relief distribution. It is also the main convenor behind Walk the
World, the global fundraising and awareness campaign against child
hunger.
Walk the World began in China in 2003, when
employees of the Netherlands-based company walked the length of the
Great Wall of China to raise awareness and funds in support of
WFP’s School Feeding Program. What began as a simple
“employee-engagement day” became one of the biggest awareness
and fundraising program in the world, and is celebrating its fifth
year in 2008.
TNT and WFP’s commitment to end hunge is
motivated by heartbreaking facts. In the modern world where
technology dominates life, the fact that people die hungry is a grim
reality. Currently, there are 850 million people in this world who
knows what’s it like to get by without any food in their
stomach—400 million of these are children. Each year, 11 million
children die before they reach the age of five. Tragically,
child hunger even originates at birth. Up to 17 million children are
born hungry, often times the result of inadequate nutrition before
and during pregnancy. This becomes a vicious cycle of hunger—with
hungry children emerging as hungry parents who will eventually bring
forth hungry children of their own.
In the Philippines, despite economic growth,
nearly 57 percent of the population does not have sufficient food to
eat. In Mindanao, where WFP Philippines is focusing much of its
efforts, 64 percent of the households and an estimated 38 percent of
children are malnourished. The lack of food has a profound effect on
the children’s future. Currently, 33 percent of children do not go
to school as their parents refused to send them, citing lack of food
as contributing factor.
However daunting the task may be, TNT
Philippines and the local office of WFP take on the streets once
more, this time to end hunger through Walk the World. They invite
everyone to take part in this global initiative to completely
eradicate child hunger in the world.
The Manila Walk begins at 6 a.m. on June 1,
2008, Sunday, at the Bonifacio Global City, Taguig City. Leading the
local Walk are TNT Express Country General Manager Cetin Yalcin, WFP
Director Valerie Guarnierie and National Ambassador against Hunger
KC Concepcion together with employees of TNT and WFP and their
family and friends.
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