“Mama”
The baby’s feeble, dying voice
Rips mother’s heart into a  m i ll io  n   p   ie  ce s
T
  E
    A
      R
        S

            G
              L
                I
              D
             I
              N
                 G
Down from her eyes
To her protruded cheek
And falls on the baby’s skinny arm

All he had for today was a small cob of yellow corn
And a sip of water that his mother carried
From the faucet that requires hours of walking 

Last night, the baby cried endlessly
His tummy was swollen like a mountain
His lips cracked like the aftermath of an earthquake

The mother ran to each houses asking the reason
And her heart was pounding incessantly like the sound in the construction field 

But

No one knew why the baby cried endlessly 
No one knew why his tummy grew bigger and BIGGER
No one knew why his lips were cracking like a fissure after a severe drought

No one was educated enough
To tell that it was

M.A.L.N.U.T.R.I.T.I.O.N.

Hospitals are rare in Malawi
Of course, the hospital is miles and miles away from the house
The family did not even have money to feed the child
No way to dare visit the hospital

If the family doesn’t have 20 dollars
By next week
The baby will die
Just because of 20 dollars

20 dollars

We can save 20 dollars
If we don’t buy snacks for a week

We can
            Save
                    The child

In America, the obesity rate
Is rising rapidly

“Mom, I feel drowsy and my shirts have gotten smaller recently”
This single comment from Mark shocked his mother
They got dressed in a second and stormed out of the house
And drove 5 minutes to the hospital

The doctor says that sleepiness and drowsiness are all because of
Obesity
Mark needs to lose 20kg of weight
In order to be in the
Fit-zone

For breakfast, Mark eats pancakes with squirts of syrup
Along with his favorite food, greasy bacon strips
For lunch, he eats BIG and thick burgers
Along with long, salted french fries with fizzling coke
For dinner, he eats pasta
Along with melting cheese on top
This is not the end
For desert, he eats chocolate cake with chocolate syrup
leaving no bare area of chocolate syrup on the cake
When he watches T.V, he always has chips between his 2 fingers
ready to shove them into his mouth

Definition of obesity:
The condition of being grossly fat or overweight
Definition of malnutrition:
Lack of proper nutrition, caused by not having enough to eat

These kids in America are eating more than enough
These kids in Malawi are eating less than enough

How ironic is that?
How unfair is that?

What if Americans consume less?
What if Malawians consume more?

Would everybody be happy…