Global hunger kills nearly 16,000 children every day. It’s a scourge of third-world countries. And, strangely enough…it’s also one of the most solvable problems there is. Why hasn’t it been solved then?
Of course, charity is a magnificent and wonderful way to help those who cannot help themselves. Yet, with all the charity that people in first-world countries provide, massive third-world hunger (much of it based on a lack of clean water) continues to exist, and big-time!
One reason is that, aside from monies falling into the hands of despotic leaders and never making it into the hands of those who actually need it, there’s no individual, long-term economic incentive for the actual residents to do the work.
The Solution
One thing that never fails in terms of increasing the standard of living for everyone under its umbrella is Free-Market Capitalism. This involves a person or group of people creating something that brings immense value to others, solves their problems, creates lots of jobs and becomes self-sustaining; based on a healthy profit for all concerned. Yes, even if the actual incentive for the creators isn’t the money itself (though it is one of the rewards), by “the very nature of the thing” it will create that long-term abundance for those who need it most.
Yes, while charity is so very important, it often merely temporarily sustains rather than permanently solves. Even more effective and beneficial is… to help people to not need charity; to be both self-sustaining and prosperous, and be able to pass that prosperity along to others.
The New “Fab Four”
And, that’s what one group of graduate students at the Lauder School of Government* at the IDC in Israel, are in the process of doing. Originating from four different countries, the team of Princella Smith, Julian Jubran, Bezawit Getaneh and Paul Amos are competing for the International Hult Prize. If they win, they will receive $1,000,000 in seed funding for their project. Of course, they are competing with some other terrific groups of young entrepreneurs; all of whom deserve huge applause.
Forming a company by the name of Aqua Zai, the four’s mission, and how they plan to accomplish it, can be seen in this very brief video. (Please take a look. It’s outstanding. And, I’m honored to have been asked to provide a brief endorsement within the video.)
Aqua Zai will combine powerful technology – including the newly-developed, Zai Bug – with proven, advanced Israeli agricultural techniques in order to provide clean and nutritious food to the world’s urban slums. They will begin in Ethiopia.
Isn’t That Awesome?
To find out more about this project and the Hult Prize, visit www.solvingglobalhunger.com. If you’d like, you can vote for this project or another one you feel is deserving. {Note: Personally, I’m not a huge fan of online voting for contests because it often turns into a popularity contest rather than which project is best. However, the rules and methodologies have already been determined, and this is how it has been set up: the first round of qualification is through online voting. The final voting will be done by a panel of judges in New York.}
Please know: I did NOT post this article in order to ask you to vote for their project. I actually decided to write this post before I knew the initial qualification would be determined via online voting. I’m just personally so impressed with what this talented group of young entrepreneurs is doing and the cause they have gotten behind that it just seemed right that you know about it. Feel free to vote or not vote; or vote for whichever team you feel is most deserving; that’s up to you.
I wish the Aqua Zai team, as well as all of the competing teams, the very best.
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*The name of the school has “Government” in it, but neither this project, nor the Hult Prize is affiliated with any government entity. This is all privately funded.
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I wish luck upon these individuals as well !
Tammy: Thank you!
Bob,
Thank you for posting this. I voted for this as well and now going to share your post on my network. Hopefully this helps a noble cause.
Regards,
Kumar
Awesome, Kumar. Thank you. I’m very proud of them!
What a great team of Young Leaders… Great post… Shared and voted
Carly: Thank you. They’re awesome, aren’t they?!
It’s great to see people take initiative towards prosperity of humanity! Thanks for the post, Bob!
Sergey: Thank YOU. So glad you enjoyed it!
It has been such a blessing to read all of these comments. We will know if we made the official top ten list in less than 24 hours. Thank you so much, everyone, and remember that you can make a positive difference in the world wherever you are.
Thank YOU, Princella. You and your team are a huge blessing. Rooting for y’all!!
Bob,
Very much enjoyed reading this. I could not agree with you more. It’s all about helping people to create self-sustainable ventures. That’s the best way to truly meet the need long term. They seem like awesome people!
-Zach
Zach: Thank you. Very well said. And, thank you for sharing your thoughts with us!