Human Rights Essay
By Judith Stark

As stated in the Earth Charter section III Social and Economic Justice:
9a. Eradicate poverty as an ethical, social and environmental imperative: I too, believe in the "right for all people to have clean water, clean air, food security, uncontaminated soil, shelter, and safe sanitation, allocating the national and international resources required …and to provide safety nets for those who are unable to support themselves."
I grew up in dire poverty. My mother was disabled and couldn’t work. We were on welfare and would get enough money to pay for our basic needs- a roof over our heads, heat, water and enough food to survive on with the help of the food stamp program.
Today I see my neighbors in similar circumstances and volunteer to drive to the food bank weekly to help them get food for their families. Food banks are set up for the homeless offering them a hot meal: for some, the only hot meal they will have for the week.
I see how our government and other relief agency programs are literally saving people from starvation by providing nutritional meals. We still can do more. There are so many needs “out there.”
In the Earth Charter it states our human rights as being "entitled to food security and shelter …and a safety net for those who are unable to support themselves and that national or international resources should be allocated as required to meet the needs." For many this is happening, but for others it’s not and I believe we as a society and a world can and should do more to value these basic human rights.