AT3 - Assignment 3 PDF

Preview

Summary

Assignment 3...

Description

The World Hunger Crisis and The Common Good Today we are living in the midst of a devastating and tragic crisis, with a staggering 821 million people facing chronic food deprivation right now every day [ CITATION Wor20 \l 1033 ]. According to Firestone (2020) “A crisis can be simply defined as a situation that develops quickly and requires a major response from an organization and/or individuals in order to mitigate the consequences”. The United Nations (UN) is one of the largest nonprofit organizations existing, striving to mitigate the consequences of food deprivation by aiming to end world hunger by 2030. This goals foundation is built off the Catholic Social Thought (CST) principle of the ‘common good’, to serve others by helping ensure that everybody everywhere has enough good-quality food to lead a healthy life. However, as stated by Firestone, individuals also can play a role in helping respond to a crisis. As an individual who stands for both the common good and global solidarity, the crisis of food deprivation around the world brings a great calling into my life to not just lead others, but also provide solutions to some of the biggest challenges effecting the common good today. The weight of importance on inheriting the common good in local communities and global contexts could not be heavier, especially with some of the biggest challenges to beating world hunger being of such great magnitude; poverty, food shortages, war and conflict, climate change and many more. According to Etzioni (2014, p.2), “No society can flourish without some shared formulation of the common good. It provides criteria to draw on when the interests and the values of the various groups that compose society pull them in conflicting directions…it provides a rationale for the sacrifices members of every society have to make sooner or later for their children, for the less endowed, and for the future”[ CITATION Ami14 \l 3081 ]. In Toowong, the biggest challenge to the common good include limited local people recognising that there are greater goals in life to support (especially goals for less endowed) beyond their own private benefits. Within the local community, there are minimal donations or foundations, little community engagement to support cause or campaign, a lack in care for creation (sustainable methods are not prioritised - minimal recycling, poor food waste management etc), and a self-seeking culture. According to Massaro (2015, p.89). “Responsible people look for opportunities to contribute to worthy causes and to improve society however possible, even when the benefits of this will primarily go to others”.

The greatest challenges to the common good for the global community include human sinful temptation. At the core of the principle of the common good, through serving others we are oriented toward peace, love, and respect for one another within our global community. However, the devilish temptations of greed, power, distrust, and hatred towards one another, provide the motive and power to unleash brutal outbursts of violence and evil acts against innocent persons caught in the crossfire (Massaro, 2015, p.26). An example of this includes war and conflict, which according to studies show that although the effects of war vary, the conflicts almost always produce chronic poverty, thus further entrenching food depletion and starvation in the affected country or communtiy (Goodhand, 2003). At the forefront of sinful temptation is human greed, which is one of the leading drivers of poverty and world hunger, with unfair international trade taking advantage of those in need financially. Currently as a Christ faith-based individual, tutor at Brisbane Boys College Boarding House, and as a future educator, it is my responsibility to lead and educate others on the common good and UN’s goal of ending the world hunger crisis, particularly through advocacy and community engagement. Education is key to sharpening students critical thinking, and therefore scaffolding innovative students to pioneer new and effective strategies to combat hunger, malnutrition and poor diets in the future is one of the most effective ways to engage within my community (UNESCO, 2020). Whilst teaching students, I will instruct them to find local experts (nutritionist or health care workers) to talk and meet with in order to gain insightful information. Using social media, I will also encourage students to explore current world hunger information using hashtags (#zerohunger, #SDG2, #TeachSDGs etc.) The second way I could assist ending world hunger, is through helping reduce food waste at school and helping students connect more to homegrown food. I will help build a vegetable garden in the courtyard at BBC, and in doing so help educate and provide awareness on one of the major aspects of food insecurity – malnutrition (a lack of nutrients from fresh fruits and vegetables). Through involvement in the garden, students will be able to grasp the role of food in life, learn where food really comes from, and the skills students learn about nutrition and food security in the garden can be transferred back into their homes and into the community. The third possible implementation I could make in my professional community includes, raising money within the school to support my own campaign that helps overseas communities. The 10-week (term long) campaign could be called, “Food for World Family”, and it will be designed to help educate students once a week during a lunch break or spare period, and also collect donations during school. I will also take my campaign to my

local Church and local shopping centres for extra community engagement. Through consistent community engagement and advocacy, the common good will become realised in the local community, eventually branching into the wider global community. According to Faller (2018, p.2), “The common good in principle, stems from the dignity, unity and equality of all people. It is the sum total of the social conditions which allow people, either as groups or individuals, to reach their fulfilment more fully and more easily”. A significant part involved with realization of the common good, is understanding that at the centre we are all connected and belong to the one human family. Through teaching, generously building a vegetable garden at school, and creating the ‘Food for World Family’ campaign, the common good will become realised within the local community through togetherness. Students will begin to understand we are all in this together, and therefore everybody everywhere is deserving of help. This attitude will fuel students and locals to become motivated to give more generously, act more seriously, and become more involved in volunteering and foundational work within their school and wider community themselves. On a global scale, the interconnected world that we currently live in allows for vast opportune rippling effects. The effect of a single campaign or advocate group used to be very isolated, however today they can have global repercussions. “Globalisation has been facilitated by (and has facilitated) a boom in ICT, and this means that activists have an opportunity to hear the stories of other activists around the world and make contact with them to share ideas” [ CITATION Our19 \l 3081 ]. My campaign represents the common good by displaying togetherness of the human family, showing all people deserve human dignity, and also recognising conditions must be created to enable all to reach their fulfilment. Through contacting international organizations about my campaign, potentially collaborating with other international campaigns, and exchanging ideas and tactics to make a greater impact, the possibilities are endless and the contribution to the realization of the common good internationally will be immeasurable. As a teacher, educator, innovator, and leader, consistent practice of the common good in my daily life needs to be prioritised, as through peace and love I have the power to change lives beyond my own physical understanding.

References

End Hunger and Malnutrition. (2020). The Life You Can Save. Retrieved from https://www.thelifeyoucansave.org.au/causes-to-support/hunger-charities/ Etzioni, A. (2014). The Common Good. Amitai Etzioni The Common Good, 2. Firestone, S. (2020). Biblical Principles of Crisis Leadership. Palgrave Macmillan. Goodhand, J. (2003). Enduring Disorder and Persistent Poverty: A Review of the Linkages Between War and Chronic Poverty. World Development. Massaro, T. (2015). Living Justice: Catholic Social Teaching in Action. Roman and Littlefield Publishers. UNESCO. (2020). SDG Resources for Educators - Zero Hunger. United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization. Retrieved from https://en.unesco.org/themes/education/sdgs/material/02 World Vision. (2020). World Hunger: Facts and How to Help. Retrived from https://www.worldvision.ca/stories/food/world-hunger-facts-how-to-help...