Why we do what we do: invest in a world without hunger!

Hunger is disruptive and unacceptable. It’s also the biggest solvable problem in the world. But to achieve a sustainable solution to hunger, we need to flip old models on its head, as I learned during my recent trip with The Hunger Project Nederland to Malawi: where top-down, aid-driven charity models fail, the power is in investing in community leadership.

Some facts on hunger. World hunger is worsening at an unprecedented rate. It is estimated that between 702 and 828 million people were affected by hunger in 2021. About 10 per cent of the world population. (source: FAO). And nearly 1 in 3 people in the world (around 2.3?billion people) is moderately or severely food insecure. There is a growing gender gap in food insecurity: 31.9% of women in the world were moderately or severely food insecure compared to 27.6% of men. But hunger is about more than food: it negatively impacts the health, education, economic and social development of entire communities and most important... It’s about people – regularly going to sleep hungry!

“10 per cent of the world population suffers from chronic hunger.”

We cannot afford nót to invest in access to food for everyone. Not only from compassion, but also from the opportunities it offers. The philosophy of The Hunger Project (THP) – a global, non-profit, strategic organization committed to the sustainable end of world hunger – appeals to me: people with hunger are not the problem, but the solution! And that is what motivates me to be involved in @The Hunger Project Nederland for a number of years.

A radical rethink. Much has been said and much is written about what would be the best way to help extremely poor people. I wondered… Do our efforts to eradicate hunger in the next eight years will require a radical rethink given the global upswing in hunger and food insecurity caused by COVID-19, climate change and conflict?

Therefore, I was in Malawi (1 of 13 program countries of THP) with the THP-Netherlands Supervisory Board last week. After all, we supervise the THP policy, its implementation and we are expected to advice the Dutch board. I realized once again: you can only do that well by contextualizing and examining how something comes about. By visiting communities and listening, you can empathize better, put things in perspective and you save yourself from blind spots…. So there we go: off to Malawi.

“No single organization can end hunger and poverty on their own.”

This is The Hunger Project in Malawi. THP works in 9 epicenters across central and southern Malawi, which consist of 237 villages with over 100,000 inhabitants. An epicenter is a dynamic center where communities are mobilized for action to meet their basic needs. A similar amount of people is reached through other thematic projects, without the physical epicenter structure. However, no single organization – not even government alone – can end hunger and poverty. Therefore, we build a consortium of organizations that co-create a shared methodology.

Working together to end hunger in Malawi. For example with Dioraphte, by empowering communities around the Majete Wildlife Park. With WaterAid, on issues related to food and water, sanitation and hygiene (WASH). With UNICEF, focusing on combating malnutrition. And THP and NewPort Capital have established a new investor network “Game Changers”, to support communities around the Zinave National Park in Mozambique together with Peace Parks Foundation (something we are already doing successfully with African Parks Foundation around the Majete Wildlife Park: Majete has become a thriving park, with the lowest poaching rates in Malawi).

“Community members have the capacity and skills to act as agents of their own development.”

Results by self-reliant communities. As of March 2022, 59 THP epicenters in 8 countries in Africa have declared self-reliance. That means community members are confident and have the capacity and skills to act as agents of their own development. Nearly 980.000 people now continue on their own path towards the end of hunger and poverty and can tackle new challenges together, without further support from The Hunger Project.

A few examples of the impact in these 59 self-reliant communities *:

• The number of people suffering from severe hunger was reduced to less than 1%
• 64% more households have a vegetable garden
• 33% increase in the number of people using financial services
• 39% increase in the proportion of female small business owners
• 28% decrease in child marriage

Average results from final evaluations of the 59 self-reliant epicenters, compared to the mid-term evaluations, which we conducted some 3 to 4 years prior to the final evaluation.

Sustainable impact I’ve seen in Malawi. A little more detail about two projects I recently visited in Malawi. In the first epicenter an enormous improvement has been made in the water supply. Some water taps had broken down and the community and its water committees were unable to raise enough money for repairs. Individual households have started a new initiative together with the water committee. Before a repair is carried out, a substantiated plan is first approved, and the money saved is lent out as a micro-loan with interest.

The interest increases the total amount in the cash register of the of the water committee savings group and there is sufficient cash available for regular maintenance. In addition, they have found an extra way to grow the money: in the dry season they grow vegetables around the water point. The proceeds of this also go back into the savings account of the water committee.

We also visited Sabistone; an already successful farmer, who had previously received 2 goats – 1 male and 1 female goat – within the pass-on program. They promise to give goats to the next family after the original 2 goats produce 2 or more. By now, Sabistone and his wife have over 70 goats, with the proceeds they bought land and the manure is used as organic fertilizer in agriculture. They also train young people in the community. Genuine entrepreneurship and pride in what they do!

“Indeed, a far-reaching and sustainable impact you could say!”

?It proves everyone has a role to play in the end of world hunger. Top-down, aid-driven charity models fail, clearly the power is in investing in community leadership. When 1 person is trained, the ripple effect it catalyzes is far-reaching: to their children and spouses and to the wider community. Real progress is made when we all work together.

Let’s change the game – together. Malawi is increasingly dealing with drought, but also with floods and severe storms. The roof of one of the epicenter buildings has been blown off by a whirlwind. What to do? As THP we guide and facilitate. If you take over the problem and start solving it, you are actually saying that the residents are not capable of that. To achieve a sustainable solution to hunger, we need to flip old models on its head.

Fine-tuning programs so they meet the needs of the recipients, afford access to the education and tools needed to end hunger for good.?Communities supported by THP are working towards nine goals that together contribute to ending hunger; including empowerment of girls and women and farmers learning about improved farming techniques that lead to higher production.

All goals are set by community members and they actively work on them themselves, but within communities rather than individuals. All stakeholders, acting in collaborative partnership, recognize that ending poverty and other deprivations must go hand in hand with strategies that improve health and education, reduce inequality, and spur economic growth – all while tackling climate change and working to preserve our oceans and forests.

It is obvious; there are no quick answers to difficult questions. Not everything is always clear. It was therefore great to meet the entrepreneurial community members of Malawi, THP employees and the Supervisory Board members. Because we have such different experiences and backgrounds, we question each other more and avoid stereotypical thinking and classifications. It is clear to me that we should not be satisfied with what is! Searching and not-yet-always knowing, not grouping around the prevailing norm, but moving in the margins to find an answer, suits me better!

?I hope we will talk more about The Hunger Project's work. Because it is necessary!