Driver Middle School Students Participate in Marcellus Optimist Club Oratorical Contest

Congratulations go out to Stephen Larison, Driver Middle School (DMS) 8^th grade student, who was selected as winner of the 2011 Marcellus Optimist Club Oratorical Contest. Congratulations are also in order for runner-up finalists Cayla Dutton and Mary Morocco, both 8^th grade students at DMS. The DMS students presented their speeches at the March 9, 2011 Marcellus Optimist Club meeting held at the Inn Between Restaurant. The 2011 oratorical contest topic was “If I were the leader of the free world, the first issue I would address would be….”. The finalists were judged on criteria that included poise, the content and organization of the speech, presentations skills, and the overall effectiveness of the speech. The DMS students earned the honor of competing at the finalist level after participating in the DMS school wide oratorical contest held in February of 2011. Larison will now move on to compete at the Optimist District level oratorical event. His speech is listed below:

Marcellus Optimist Club Oratorical Contest Speech

World Starvation

By Steven Larison

If I were leader of the free world, the first issue I would address would be World Starvation. Our world is a world of great improvements. We have advanced from Adam and Eve to Apple Technology and Electronics. We have devices such as IPods and computers, and machines such as jets and automobiles. But yet, we can’t seem to resolve one of the simplest, but most devastating issues pressing our globe today; world starvation.

According to Bread for the World, an organization that “urges our world leaders to end Starvation,” over 930 million people worldwide are starving. That’s 930 million people who fall asleep each night not knowing if they or their family will make it through the night. How inhumane is this of mankind to let something like this happen, especially since there is enough food to go around. World starvation is one of the world’s worst population threats; nevertheless it is one of the easiest issues to repair. There are many organizations and individuals in the world who are already working to end this deadly catastrophe, and if we can unite them and work side by side, we can snap world starvation like a twig! It can be fixed, and I will fix it!

Starvation means you are dying from the lack of nutrients and minerals food provides. It is a killer that can result from [1] poverty: three billion people worldwide survive on just $2 a day to feed and support them and their extended families as said by Thinkquest, an education foundation. [2] corrupt governments: such as Zimbabwe in Africa, denying its own people food and [3] natural disasters like the Haitian earthquake or the tsunami in Asia. If I can get people to realize how severe starvation is and the roots from which it starts, then I can tackle and eradicate this concern swiftly.

The “Stats of Starvation” are shocking . According to the World Hunger Education Service, every 3.6 seconds, someone dies of starvation in the world. That’s 24,000 people each day; 15 million each year. Seventy-five percent of these people are malnourished children with no parents, or parents who can’t afford to care for them. 183 million kids weigh less than they should for their age. More people die from starvation than recorded, because starvation leads to other diseases, such as scurvy, and they can lead to death.

Our world has the resources to tackle this predicament. We have the funds. What our world spends on its military in two days, we could prevent 100 MILLION starvation deaths. Furthermore, two-thirds of the adults in the U.S are overweight or obese, but how is this possible when HALF of the food in this country is discarded and thrown away. If we recover this carelessly tossed away food, we can nourish 80 million people a day.

There are many ways to solve starvation. One way is to research and develop ways to grow food on a worldwide scale. Some people live in areas where food can’t be grown, such as Southern Sudan, so new technology is needed to be able to farm those areas and to provide irrigation in the deserts. Specially modified farms could allow us to farm faster and more efficiently in hard-to-farm areas. We could also improve food distribution techniques; for example, first world countries have a surplus of staple crops and other foods that could easily be distributed with improved technology and transportation. We will concentrate on the mass production of specially designed meals for malnourished people, that are already being distributed by organizations such as Stop Hunger Now. Meals that cost just 25c per meal! Additionally, the simple act of digging a well could provide a remote village a permanent supply of water. These techniques could save millions of lives.

The previous ideas are all long term solutions, but my main idea involves Plumpy’nut. In a NY Times article, Andrew Rice introduces Plumpy’nut. It is a peanut-based food used on a small scale for famine relief. It was invented by the Frenchman Andre Briend in 1997 and is high-protein, high-vitamin, and high-mineral food that comes right out of the package. It requires no water or preparation. If ingested twice a day, for two to four weeks, it will completely reverse malnutrition. A package costs just $35. So for just $35 you could save a life. Plumpy’nut would keep people alive until the long term techniques are developed and perfected. This fabulous, amazing product, if mass produced, could solve world hunger in under a year.

With all these ways to tackle starvation, why haven’t we solved the issue yet? If I am elected leader of the free world, I will bring organizations and individuals, plus scientists and financial resources together from all nations. Together, we will end world Starvation!

In the time it took to give this presentation, 84 people have died from Starvation.