By Michael Quinlin, Contributor
After building a $1 million memorial park last year to commemorate the 150th anniversary of the Irish Famine, Boston’s Irish community is turning its attention toward people suffering from contemporary famines throughout the world.
A proposed Irish Famine Institute that blends social activism and academic research is currently in the planning stages in Boston. Organizers want to create a permanent endowment to send food, medicine and supplies directly to African and Asian countries chronically experiencing famine and pestilence. The Institute also plans to support field research that will forecast and prevent famines in the future, and to educate the public about the hunger and suffering still occurring in the world.