Introductory Speech Outline

A. Introduction a. Attention getter: One in 5 children suffer from food insecurity, living on less than 20 cents per day in Malawi. b. Introduction: My name is Skyler Lowman, and I am a Social Work and Spanish Major at JMU. c. Thesis: Today, I am going to talk to you about an issue that is very personal to me, the extreme food insecurity in Malawi, specifically regarding children._______________________________________________________________ d. Preview of main points: First, I’m going to talk to you about how I became interested in the topic of food insecurity in Malawian children. Next, I’m going to provide you with some background on the causes of food insecurity in Malawi. Finally, I’ll end by discussing the detrimental effects of food insecurity on children. B. Body a. Main point #1: I first became interested in the topic of food insecurity in Malawian children while volunteering there. After high school, I took a gap year to travel and volunteer in 6 different countries around the world. While in Malawi, I helped an organization hand out food to over 600 children. The organization provided meals twice a week and for most, this was the only food they would eat all week. Later I worked as a teacher in a local school. I taught a class of about 15 children aged 8-10. During every class, at least one or two children would pass out due to hunger. This broke my heart and enticed me to research more about this issue and ways that we can help. b. Transition: So, what causes this extreme food insecurity in Malawi? c. Main point #2: Food insecurity in Malawi is caused by unreliable weather patterns and an unstable economy. Malawi experiences severe droughts and flooding resulting in extreme difficulty amongst farmers to maintain their crops. The destruction of their crops increases the already high poverty rate caused by an unstable economy. Nearly 71% of the population lives in extreme poverty, with no foreseeable future for that to decline. The effects of these issues is life-threatening food insecurity. d. Transition: So what are the effects of food insecurity on children? e. Main point #3: Food insecurity affects children’s growth, education, and consequently their opportunities. A lack of nutrition stunts, not only the physical growth of children, but also their brain development. This is amplified by the effect hunger has on education. How can a child focus and learn anything if they are hungry? Therefore, most people facing food insecurity suffer from a lack of education and even illiteracy. On average, Malawian children receive only 4 ½ years of schooling throughout their lives. This will consequently affect the opportunities available to them in the future. Overall, this creates a cycle of poverty that is fueled by food insecurity, creating generations of children destined for hunger and poverty. C. Conclusion a. Transition: I’d like to conclude today by discussing the ways that you can help this seemingly powerless issue. First, you can donate to organizations that provide food for these communities such as Feed the Children and The Hunger Project. You can also volunteer to send packages of sustainable foods to local organizations and schools in Malawi. Whether or not you choose to directly help this situation, I encourage you to spread awareness regarding the importance of food security. Keeping the children in our world fed consequently affects the future of us all. Thank you.