Five years is not a child's lifetime.

Every single day 8.8 million children under the age of five around the world die from PREVENTABLE causes. That translates into 24,000 children every day, or roughly 1000 an hour, or about 33 in the two minutes it will take you to read this blog post. 

As a World Vision volunteer and public speaker I have heard every objection to helping developing nations under the sun. Some people tell me that it's their own fault, that their own leaders should stop stealing resources and do something about their own problems. I have been told that we should cut aid to the third world and help our own children first. I have been told that helping developing nations is like throwing good money after bad. I have been told that they should stop having children, that their overcrowding is ruining the planet. I have heard so many arguments advocating the cutting of aid, each one illogical, each one easily countered with logic, and most of them formed by thinly veiled bigotry.

Politics aside for now, what does a five year old child know about politics?

The main killer of these children are diarreah, pneumonia, birth complications and malnutrition. When a child's body is lacking nourishment something as simple as diarreah will be enough to kill that child. Lack of access to clean drinking water is another great killer, responsible for the deaths of many more children.

If these children were American or Canadian, we would think that this situation is intolerable.

In June, the G8 summit will be held in Muskoka, Ontario, Canada. World Vision, through their five for five program is trying to collect 8.8 million signatures (one for each child that will die this year due to the lack of political will in the western world) to present to the leaders of the 8 nations. World Vision would like to show these leaders that enough people care and that something should be done to help the lives of these children. The solutions are not expensive, they are not difficult to impliment and they will not take anything away from our own children.

If you wish, you may sign the petition