IN CONVERSATION WITH
AS SEEN IN THELIFESTYLEEDIT.COM.AU
MELANIE NODEN CEO, THE HUNGER PROJECT
THE HUNGER PROJECT’S MISSION To end hunger and poverty by pioneering sustainable, grassroots, women-centered strategies and advocating for their widespread adoption in countries throughout the world.
[ TLSE ] THP EMPOWERS WOMEN AND MEN LIVING IN RURAL VILLAGES IN INDIA, AFRICA, BANGLADESH AND LATIN AMERICA TO END THEIR OWN HUNGER. IN IDENTIFYING EACH INDIVIDUAL IN THESE COMMUNITIES AS THE SOLUTION TO THE HUNGER EPIDEMIC AS OPPOSED TO THE PROBLEM, HOW DOES THP WORK WITH THESE INDIVIDUALS TO UNLOCK THEIR CAPACITY, CREATIVITY AND ULTIMATELY IGNITE LEADERSHIP, SO THAT THEY MAY BE EMPOWERED TO CHANGE THEIR SITUATION? [ MELANIE ] The Hunger Project believes that everyone has the capacity and power within themselves to transform their lives – even if most people don’t think of themselves as that powerful! Our work is to unlock this creativity and leadership, and enable people to see what they’re really capable of. We take women and men living in rural, remote villages globally through a process we’ve designed called ‘Vision, Commitment, Action’. It interrupts the idea that the future must look like an extension of the past. Through participating in the ‘Vision, Commitment, Action’ process, people discover that they can create a vision for their future (that looks different to the past), make a commitment to themselves and others around them that they’ll do something about it, and develop an action plan to bring their vision to life.
A CURATION OF LIFE + STYLE
It’s an incredible process, and really awakens people to their own leadership. To date we have delivered this workshop to 1.6 million people!
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WHAT ARE SOME OF THE BIGGEST CHALLENGES THP FACES IN CHANGING THE MINDSETS OF THE COMMUNITIES IN NEED, SO THAT THE MEN AND WOMEN MAY BE EMPOWERED AND EDUCATED THROUGH RESOURCES AND SKILLS TO BREAK THE POVERTY CYCLE THEY ARE IN? One of the biggest challenges is dealing with people’s resignation that ‘this is the way it’s always been, so this is the way it will be forever’. Imagine that you had always lived in hunger: why should the future be any different? Shifting that mindset to one of empowerment and optimism is a huge feat, and requires people to dig deep and deal with their own cynicism. I must point out that the same is true for us in the Western world! How resigned are we to the way things are? We often see ourselves as insignificant and unable to make a difference. That’s simply not true! People involved in The Hunger Project community understand that they can contribute to global transformation – from right here in Australia.
