Untitled Document
 The
World Food Program (WFP)세계식량계획 is the world’s largest humanitarian agency fighting hunger worldwide. Recently, Kids Reporter Hong
Seung-young sat down with Lim Hyoung-joon, a donor relations officer at the
WFP for an interview.
Hong: Please tell me about the WFP.
Lim: The WFP is an international organization,
whose goal is to put an end to hunger around
the world. Right now, one in every six
people in the world is suffering from starvation. Worldwide, one and
a half billion people worry about food. The WFP
serves food to these people.
Also, we restore and rebuild lives after emergencies.
Hong: Why did you choose this job?
Lim: I traveled around poor countries.
I saw people suffering from not having enough food. Especially seeing children
suffering, I felt very bad for them. Therefore, I wanted to help
people, so I became determined to work at the WFP.
 Hong:
Is your job difficult?
Lim: Of course it is difficult. I needed
to move to a new country every two years. Therefore,
I had to learn each country's culture and language. Some countries
had no water or electricity, and I even came
down with malaria once. However, I always felt
my job was worthwhile.
Hong: Did you ever want to give up?
Lim: I never wanted to give up. I’m working
very happily.
Hong: Can you tell me an example of your work?
Lim: For example, if a malnourished mother gives
birth to a child, the child will also be malnourished. The child will
grow up malnourished. Let
me show you a picture of a normal child’s brain and
a malnourshed child’s brain. Look, if the brain does not grow, the
person will not be smart or grow well. The first 1,000 days, from
conception to 24 months after
birth, are the most important
for children. If they do not get their necessary nutritional requirements,
the children are born with damaged brains. Thus, the
WFP makes the effort to give adequate nutrition to pregnant
women. Some kids in poor countries walk for about 2 hours to get a
school meal we provide. We give 2 kilograms
of oil and 4 kilograms of rice to parents who send their children
to school. Often, parents in these countries
would not let their children go to school, even though it was the only
place where their children
could get a proper meal. They wanted
their children to work at home.
 Hong:
Is there enough food at the WFP for all the poor people?
Lim: Actually, there is not enough
food for everyone. Currently, we need food for
a billion people, but we only have enough food for 80 million people.
A lot of people do not know about how serious starvation is. Korea
is the 13th richest country, but is only the 37th largest supporter to the WFP. I hope
Korea will help the WFP more to help the starving children.
Hong: What is the message that you would like to tell Korean
elementary school students?
Lim: You are very happy children. However,
please remember there are many people who are suffering. It will be good for you to think
about what you could do for them. Moreover, I hope you can
always be thankful to your parents,
study hard and strive to become an excellent person for the sake of making the
world a better place.
Kids reporter Hong Seung-young (Beodle Elementary School) |
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