Chances are, wherever you are this morning
It. Is. Hot.
And the grass is probably either brown, getting brown, or your neighbors are totally watering their lawns every day. Even here in the land of precipitation, things are less than green.
But you're eating, aren't you? I am. In fact, I have variety in my balanced diet. I even have recently complained about grocery store prices and am always wondering what new and exciting recipes to cook for dinner.
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/picturegalleries/worldnews/8630255/Horn-of-Africa-famine-Somalia-Ethiopia-and-Kenya-suffer-worst-drought-in-60-years.html#.Tie-6i149gQ.facebook
This picture got to me. I cannot imagine looking into my child's face and telling them I don't have anything for them to eat. Really, do we have any idea what starving is like? No. We have no concept of there being no food to buy or pick. Nothing. Not even the can of vegetables that's been in the pantry for a year or leftovers from three days ago. Nothing.
What heartbreak could exceed your own child starving to death. How senseless does it seem that a little life full of potential is snuffed out by lack of food. Not cancer, but not enough to eat. Is that even possible when I just threw out half a bowl of pasta salad my family wouldn't eat? When the farmers at the market still have stuff left at the end of the day?
Somali refugees are here in the states. These people have been through a lot, and I cannot imagine what is going on in the streets of this already fragile country. Ethiopia's recent memory has famine etched into it already. Kenya seems a little more stable and hearty - but the elections a few years ago proved that things can get ugly fast.
Terribly sad and depressing post, I know. I believe, however, that we should face up to what goes on in the world. We get to look away the rest of the day.
http://www.worldconcern.org/crisis/
http://www.doctorswithoutborders.org/
I think the fact that the links at the bottom were there -- a way to act. Not just be sad, but do something -- was perfect. I read the post and felt overwhelmed. What can I do? So thanks for the links. For the way to do something for those of us (me) who wouldn't know where to start.
ReplyDeleteI appreciate your comment, Amanda. In going through my big stack of materials for Visions for Change, I came across a timely statement: we as a society have accepted and normalized poverty. The first step is changing mindset: when people go without basic necessities it is not ok. And we can do something about it.
ReplyDeleteThere is a set of Mennonite cookbooks I have come to appreciate deeply, the first being More-with-Less by Doris Janzen Longacre. It is a great resource for learning how to eat in a way that not only consumes less resources but helps us live in more appreciation for what we have and in solidarity with our fellow humans who have less. Even simple little suggestions like every time you eat rice, think of how much of the world's population is sustained by this food, and how precious it is to them.
I'll stop now. I can kind of get carried away with More-with-Less evangelizing:)