Since Bono and the Gates family were honored as TIME’s people of the year, I though I’d share an optimistic little look at some numbers on African aid.

A charity called Lifeline of Hope* claims we can feed one orphan child for an entire year for $120.00.

The BBC, meanwhile, reports that AIDS orphans in Africa ‘may top 18 million by 2010.’

So, assuming nothing is done in the meantime, we would need $2.16 billion to feed these children each year starting in 2010.

In the year 2000, the United States contributed a total of $56.2 billion in humanitarian aid, an amount that continues to increase each year.

Even if our giving held at that level, however, we could feed 468 million orphans, or 450 million more African AIDS orphans than will even exist in 2010.

Assuming that the entirety of our humanitarian efforts was concentrated in that one area, we could be feeding about 55.71% of Africa’s total population.

As I’ve written before, Bono’s ONE campaign asks the U.S. government to direct 1% of its budget, or $25 billion, to humanitarian aid each year. If instead the ONE campaign asked each individual American to donate 1% of his salary, the total would be FOUR times larger: $100 billion.

With that amount of money, we could feed the entire continent of Africa and still have plenty left over for other humanitarian causes, and without the federal government spending even ONE dime of taxpayer money.

Now how’s that for a little Christmas cheer?!

* - Hat tip to Clarke for the link.