Picture

"...an impression of something formed from an account or description."

We painted at Youth church on Friday. I've never been an artist and my attempt ended up being some words on a piece of card. Naturally. But it was beautiful to see the images formed by others; not an exact replica of the original photo but with the added personality of the individual who painted it.

I like how we individually interpret the world. For example, how different and beautiful I perceived London this week when it snowed. My favourite thing is how snow creates a new appearance for something you might see regularly. You see it again, in a new light. Like how the park looked still and artistic rather than energetic and bright last Sunday. Yet for others beauty isn't seen in snow, rather the impracticalities of coldness and slippery ice. Everyone has their own perception of what's beautiful - it might be forests and trees, or tall buildings and city horizons.

We all see differently and personally. Our version of the world is ever so slightly different to everyone else's.

Yet other times our culture or society creates a picture of the world and we're moulded by that. We imagine Africa to be dry and dusty, America to be big and busy, Europe to be beautiful and artsy. Sometimes the stereotypes are true, but sometimes we forget that the picture, or impression, is limiting.

So I tenuously link towards what I've been challenged by this week; my picture of global hunger. What does a hungry person look like? Perhaps they're an African child with an inflated stomach. Perhaps they're an Asian woman begging on the streets of India. Perhaps they're a homeless man in London.

Trips to India and Zimbabwe challenged my perception, as the people we met there weren't simply hungry; they were malnourished. And that's just as bad. And if we add all the malnourished people on our globe to those who have no food, that adds up to a lot of the world's population.

If we look at the big picture, it's pretty startling.

This year there's a UK campaign that's trying to begin to end hunger. And it's a little different because it's challenging our picture of aid. IF is demonstrating the multifaceted nature of hunger and the answer isn't simply giving money. In fact, there's enough food for everyone in the world. We need to figure out how everyone can get enough to eat and that doesn't just require money. It's a little more complex.

This year as I intern, my picture of the world is changing. And I'm learning that it's not just the charity workers of the world who'll make a difference. There aren't enough of them. I'm becoming passionate about how we use our individuality to join in and solve the world's problems. This is one of them and I think we all need to work towards a better big picture.

www.enoughfoodif.org