Every Three Seconds

Although the title references how often a human being somewhere on planet Earth dies of malnutrition, filmmaker Daniel Karslake's Every Three Seconds passionately addresses a number of international-relief crises—famine among them—while also looking at how ordinary citizens have gotten involved. We see a 7-year-old English boy whose bike-riding fundraiser effort for Haitian earthquake victims made him a viral sensation and "the most famous boy in the world" (in the judgment of fan Simon Cowell). A would-be stock-photo mogul in California was stirred by an Oprah segment and put her career aside to campaign for the plight of raped women in war-ravaged Congo. Secondhand cell phones with texting ability and donated old laptops are used to create a vital medical infrastructure in Malawi. Along the way, venerable charity organizations such as UNICEF and The Hunger Project are revisited, joined by new ones such as Jamii Bora, an African "microfinance" program of loans to assist grassroots businesses. The point being made is that while the idealist goal of "ending world hunger" is a do-gooder cliché and punch-line of comedy routines, the issue of starvation (and other problems) is very real. And everyday folks in more advantaged countries should not feel cynical or powerless about helping. Featuring interviews with authors including Paul Loeb and Dacher Keltner, this is recommended. Aud: H, C, P. (C. Cassady)