Charity begins at home, but Africa is not so far away

"Some have meat and cannot eat, Some cannot eat that want it; But we have meat and we can eat, Sae let the Lord be thankit."

The words are attributed to Robert Burns. It's known as The Kirkcudbright Grace or The Selkirk Grace, and it is often heard before official dinners, particularly at hospitality industry-related functions - and there are plenty of those at this time of year. Usually, it raises a wry smile because of the enforced Scottish accent, and then the diners sit down to enjoy their four- or five-course banquet, Christian duty done.

But who actually thinks about the words? Take the second line: "Some cannot eat that want it." Is that a comic sentence? Hardly.

It's estimated that nearly 13 million people face malnutrition and starvation in southern African countries over the next six to 12 months. The continent is being ravaged by the twin perils of drought and HIV, which is decimating fit and healthy populations and making it difficult to work the already infertile land.

Without sounding pious or sanctimonious, most of us living in Western Europe and North America have no idea what this actually means. Poverty in countries such as Malawi, Zimbabwe and Zambia doesn't translate as "no television" or "only one holiday a year". It means a slow, lingering death from starvation and all the desperation that that entails.

Read what Bill Knott, who organised the Too Many Critics dinner on behalf of charity Action Against Hunger, says after a recent trip to Malawi: "I visited a tiny village… about a dozen huts and a few empty grain stores, surrounded by dry fields and a few patches of brittle maize stubble. I talked to a woman who was bringing up a family of six on her own: her husband died two years ago. Her harvest this year had not been enough. She had no seeds for this year's crop, and she feared the rains would fail again, for the third year running."

The problem is that, because of television and the constant exposure of scenes like this in the media, the shock impact of seeing world poverty has been lost and we are in danger of becoming detached and blas‚ about reality.

We are always so caught up in running or serving our own businesses and dealing with the details of our own lives that we find it difficult to see the bigger, world picture. Ask the organisers of any charity, including our profession's own Hospitality Action, and they will tell you the same story: charity giving is on the decline, fundraising is becoming a seriously tough call.

Working in the food industry, we are surrounded by thousands, even millions, of people who are prepared to spend money on eating out. That's great but, as we reap the profit, it's more appropriate for us than others that we consider those who will have no harvest at all this year, or next.

Charity events such as the Too Many Critics dinner (which has raised more than £7,000) or the Hospitality Action Ball next month are valuable for generating money. But charities, all charities, need more than an occasional one-off boost - they need a constant drip-feed of funds all year round. The follow-up to Too Many Critics is as important as the event itself. As Winnie-the-Pooh was always saying: "It's time for a little something." Or, should I say, it's always time to give a little something.

Forbes Mutch
Editor
Caterer & Hotelkeeper