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Living in a third world country, Cecilia went through a variety of rough experiences during her
childhood in the Philippines. Looking at her today, she’s obtained multiple habits and stays cautious
due to the scarcity of food as she grew up. One of them being the fear of waste. In America, it's
common that people throw their food away, but to her there's no way she could do that. Cecilia never
got the opportunity to experience an exciting youth, instead, she focused on taking care of her
siblings and questioning if she’ll receive a meal that day. While other children in the world went home
to spend time with friends or on their homework, Cecilia rushed home to work to help provide for her
family due to their fragile financial stability.

During the 1970s to 1890s, the world’s population in hunger grew by about 15 million people.
Despite the amount of food produced throughout the world, 8.9% of the globe are still going hungry
(Action Against Hunger). The number one factor of world hunger is poverty, Cecilia describes her
family as less fortunate and struggled to provide an adequate amount of food for eight people. She
says, “I can’t say that we were suffering as much as others in the world, but I know what it feels like
to go to bed hungry and not eat for many days.”
As a young girl, Cecilia immediately returned home from school to search for work, some
days she simply didn’t have time and needed to take care of her younger siblings while the other
ones went out to search for work and possibly some food.
“When I was in first grade I would sit for hours cracking peanuts just to receive less than a
dollar.” She describes the job as the most dreadful and annoying tasks she’s ever done. She
explains that she’d pick the shells off a variety of nuts with her bare hands, her fingers would often
bleed and her hands would cramp up. Due to high temperatures and moisture, the Philippine’s
humidity varies between 70-85% on average. Cecilia would often return home exhausted..as a
young girl!
While Cecilia spent most of her childhood working several jobs and making sure her younger
siblings are taken care, her mental state and confidence slowly diminished. She reflects off her past
experiences and emphasizes that it's unfortunate how many children are stripped from a good
childhood. According to World Food Programme, “66 million primary-school-age children attend
classes hungry across the developing world, with 23 million in Africa alone.” Many children including
Cecilia participate in school activities with little to no energy.
“I remember walking home and watching other kids play hopscotch with each other. I always
wanted to join them, but I knew at such a young age that there was no time to play. I had to help my
family.”

According to Our World in Data, “11% of the world’s population are undernourished-this
means that they have a caloric intake below minimum energy requirements.” It is common
knowledge that children should receive a food amount of food to maintain development and energy.
Unfortunately, in many parts of the world children suffer from malnutrition. In severe cases, UNICEF
states, “Poor nutrition in the first 1,000 days of a child’s life can also lead to stunted growth, which is
associated with impaired cognitive ability and reduced school and work performance...149.2 million
children under 5 –were stunted in 2020.”
“Some days we don’t make enough pesos and we had to go to bed or go to school with
empty stomachs. It was hard to focus in class. If we were lucky we would each get a hotdog to fuel
us for the rest of the day.”
 Luckily for Cecilia, she was able to escape poverty when she left to find work in Hong Kong
and later moved to the United States. Today, she sends money back to the Philippines to help aid
her family. While their financial state isn’t as severe as it was before, she still wants to make sure
they have a little extra. Comparing her experiences with others and the world’s current condition, she
states, “It's crazy how even today there are many people who are still starving and have it far worse
than I did.” It's unfortunate that there are millions of people in the world that wonder when or if they’ll
ever receive a meal that day even though the globe produces enough food to feed the entire
population. Even though Cecilia’s experience isn’t as severe as others, she understands the
hardships of not having enough food.

Works Cited
Roser, Max, and Hannah Ritchie. “Hunger and Undernourishment.” Our World in Data, 8 Oct.
2013, ourworldindata.org/hunger-and-undernourishment#undernourishment-by-world-region.

“World Hunger: Key Facts and Statistics 2021.” Action Against Hunger, 12 Jan. 2021,
www.actionagainsthunger.org/world-hunger-facts-statistics.

Written by Jomo Kwame Sundaram, Assistant Director-General and Coordinator for Economic and
Social Development. “The World Produces Enough Food to Feed Everyone. So Why Do People Go
Hungry?” World Economic Forum,
www.weforum.org/agenda/2016/07/the-world-produces-enough-food-to-feed-everyone-so-why-do-pe
ople-go-hungry.