Nobody can do everything, but everyone can do something.
~Author Unknown

Today is Blog Action Day, an annual nonprofit event which invites and encourages bloggers all over the world to write about a specific topic. This year’s topic – poverty. The goal – “to raise awareness and trigger a global discussion.”

Like many people, I am often overwhelmed by the magnitude of issues like poverty or global warming.  The sheer scale of the problem is one that can leave me feeling completely helpless.

If ever there was a situation which seems to warrant this sense of helplessness it is what is happening in the beautiful land of my birth, Zimbabwe.  In recent years poverty has taken a fierce and pervasive grip on Zimbabwe.

“Zimbabwe=poverty”.

It’s very telling that this was the subject of the Blog Action Day post on Sokwanele (a Civic Action Support Group working for freedom and democracy in Zimbabwe.)

Inflation has hit 231 million percent.  Independent economists say its really in the billions of percent points.

The United Nations estimates that 5.1 million people (almost 50% of  Zimbabwe’s population, or 5.1 million people, will need food help by early 2009.

The U.N. has asked donors to help meet a $140 million shortfall as they desperately work to save millions of Zimbabweans from the threat of starvation.

The World Food Program estimated recently that 83 per cent of Zimbabweans are living on less than $US2  a day and that 45 per cent of the total population is malnourished.

Zimbabweans face shortages of food, medicine, seeds, fuel, water, electricity and even cash. In some areas of the country entire families are living on 1 meal a day – if they’re lucky. Others are living on wild fruits.

When you consider all these facts, it does indeed seem like Zimbabwe=poverty.

This is the kind of situation that a long time has left me in a state of anxiety, worry, depression and stultifying fear.  I am perplexed and plagued by the big unanswerable question – WHY? Why did things have to come to this? How is this possible?

I am horrified when I think that the current average life expectancy for Zimbabwean women is 34. I turned 35 just a few weeks ago.  This means I’m one of the few lucky ones. I’ve beaten the odds. How many thousands of young Zimbabwean women like me are dead? Dying?

I tussle with the guilt of not being there and living an incredibly privileged life. In comparison my daily concerns seem obscenely petty and self-indulged.

My heart breaks a little more every time I think of the hunger, pain and suffering that has become a daily reality for many Zimbabweans. Daily, I mourn the inexplicable tragedy of our beautiful nation.

I know you’re probably feeling a little overwhelmed and very helpless yourself after reading these awful facts.

DON’T.

One of the greatest lessons of my life to this point has been learning that feeling helpless and worrying myself sick serves no one.   More importantly its really hard to act in any useful way when you’re in that kind of state.

I’m learning to let go of my guilt and recognize that “It’s really not all about me”. As far as I’m concerned the worst self-indulgence is wallowing in my own misery. It serves no one. I am in a position to  ACT and to be useful and helpful and it is my responsibility to do so.

No one will be fed by my depression and misery.  Someone may be fed as a result of my action. Maybe someone will read this post and make a donation of some kind. Maybe they’ll forward this message to a friend who forwards it to another friend who makes a donation. I don’t know.

What I do know is that by participating in Blog Action Day I am acting. You are acting too by reading this post.

I love the idea of this call to action. I’m also aware of the fact that many people will end up feeling frustrated and useless as they think about what they personally are doing to combat poverty.

No one person alone can combat poverty and. No one action alone can feed the millions of people all over the world who need feeding.

ACTION is a wonderful but scary word.  It’s only scary when you think of action as being something which requires a gigantic act like making a million dollar donation. Or selling all your belongings and using that money to help others.

Those are great actions and if  you are in a position to do such a thing then by all means do it. But if you’re not don’t worry about it.

Don’t let yourself be stopped in acting in the ways you can because you’re so busy feeling badly about all the ways you can’t act. Even in the most insurmountable of situations, we are never completely helpless.

If you can give a little, then give a little.  If you can’t give money – give your time. If you can’t give your time give your love.

Do not discount the power of love and compassion. When I feel really helpless,  I take every ounce of love that is in my being and send it to my family. My friends. The millions of hungry people in my country. In the world. I imagine peace and safety and abundance for every single person affected by this situation and others like it. I imagine freedom from suffering  for every nation whose people face fear, persecution, or lack of any kind. I imagine this for all of humanity.

This makes me feel less helpless.

So thank you for acting against poverty by reading this post – and sharing it and Blog Action Day with your friends and family.

Thank you for any type of support or donation which will come about because of you.

Thank you for acting by sending your love and good thoughts to anyone in our human family who is hungry or suffering in any way.

Some other ways you can act

Check out  “What Can One Person Do?” for great ideas on actions each of us can take now.

Make a Donation to the World Food Program to help feed those in need. (If you want to make a donation to  help in Zimbabwe, you can select that as an option).

Make a donation to Care’s World Hunger Campaign

Visit the Hunger Site and click to feed the hungry. It’s quick, easy and free. Visit the site every day and click once to help feed people all over the world.

Go to Kiva.org and make a loan to an entrepreneur in the developing world which will enable them to lift themselves out of poverty.

Finally check out the Blog Action Day site to see posts from other bloggers!

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This post is part of Blog Action Day 08 – Poverty