This past week during my internship I have continued creating a comprehensive online booklet for future Hunger Project interns and employees. My main focus for this week was researching The Hunger Project’s work throughout Africa. As I have discussed in my previous posts, The Hunger Project works is unique in that the organization does not take a “hand-out” approach to its programs across the developing world. Many other development programs worldwide focus on only one aspect of ending hunger, such as literacy, water, or health. In addition, these programs often do not last long because they fail to account for all of the complex and interconnected factors that keep hunger and poverty in place. These programs often treat hungry people as passive beneficiaries and they foster a culture of dependency. The Hunger Project’s programs, however, are based on a holistic approach, which empowers women and men living in rural communities to take charge of their own development and make sustainable progress towards a future free from hunger and poverty.

An example of one of The Hunger Project’s holistic, sustainable, and community-based programs is “The Epicenter Strategy.” This strategy was created in Africa, by Africans. Over the past 20 years, The Epicenter Strategy has mobilized 122 epicenter communities and has reached 1.6 million people in eight countries across the continent. The strategy unites 5,000-15,000 people in a group of villages to create an “epicenter,” which is essentially a center where communities take action to meet their basic needs. Through four phases over about eight years, this strategy builds a path to sustainable self-reliance. By participating in The Hunger Project’s leadership training and Vision, Commitment, and Action workshops, individuals build confidence to take charge of their own development and to create change in their local communities. The Epicenter Strategy is economically sustainable because the primary resources for the strategy come from the local people themselves. Within five to eight years, The Hunger Project’s epicenters require little to no financial support from the organization.