Bolivia hunger crisis

Tens of thousands of people in Bolivia are hungry. It is South America's poorest country, where even the U.N. World Food Program is struggling to keep up with rising food costs and a growing number of mouths to feed.

Bolivian poverty is perhaps most glaring in the sprawling La Paz suburb of El Alto. A local polling agency recently reported that about 55 percent of the 900,000 residents live on less than one dollar a day.

The UN used to feed half a million Bolivians, but that number has slipped below 200,000 as a result of inflation.

42-year-old mother, Maxima de Alijo Ticona , struggles to put food on the table for her nine children.

SOUNDBITE: 42-year-old mother, Maxima de Alijo Ticonal, saying (Spanish):

"The kids don't get enough to eat. I feel bad. Sometimes I regret I had children. If they were food, I would eat them. But I can't do that. I can't give them any more. Food prices have gone up."

She and her sons wash the neighbor's laundry but are only able to bring in $7 on a good day, not enough to feed ten.

Experts say the global food crisis is due to the conversion of land to grow crops for biofuels, bad weather, surging consumption in fast-growing developing countries and higher fuel costs.

Deborah Lutterbeck, Reuters

keep up

1. To maintain in good condition: kept up the property.

2.

a. To persevere in; carry on: We asked her to stop talking, but she kept it up.

b. To preserve or sustain: kept up the appearance of friendship.
glaring - Conspicuous; obvious: a glaring error. See Synonyms at flagrant.

sprawling - spreading out in different directions