Nigeria, March 27 -- The sun blazed relentlessly, and exhaustion clung to me like a second skin. The journey from Abuja to Minna had been nothing short of draining, leaving me restless, weak, and parched. My mouth was dry, my stomach empty, and my thoughts consumed by one thing-food and water. I checked the time: 5:13 PM. Just thirty minutes stood between me and the moment of relief. It struck me then-could a person in constant hunger truly be happy? Could deprivation coexist with peace?

In that moment, I understood something profound: hunger does not merely gnaw at the stomach; it imprisons the mind. The poor, before thinking of dreams, ambitions, or love, must first think of survival. Food is not just sustenance; it fuels energy, inter...