As I grew up one
of the overwhelming experiences that made my heart ache was seeing so many poor
kids in Mexico. During Christmas time my
dad has always put together over 100 food baskets. He would reach out to local groceries to
donate food, as well as he would reach out to anyone at the church to donate
food items. There have been times where
he has struggled with people and groceries wanting to donate but he has never
lost his faith. Since little we would
help my dad put the food boxes together and get them ready to deliver them in
impoverish neighborhoods in Mexico.
The day would come
when he asked kids and adults to volunteer and help us deliver the food
baskets. It was an awesome feeling to
provide families and kids with food but at the same time as a child I would be
sad to see how much poverty there was.
Some kids were not even wearing proper clothes or shoes especially
during the winter I could tell they were freezing. As an adult and now having my own kids I
wanted to show them what poverty is and the many children that do not even have
roof under their head or a warm meal to eat.
The tradition to help and feed impoverish kids during Christmas
continues up to this date. My dad has
been putting food baskets together for over 35 years and now my kids have
participated in helping grandpa with feeding the poor kids in Mexico. I can see the satisfaction in my own kids
face when they hand over a food basket to a child. I love seeing them making kids happy for a
moment.
In
researching further about a poor country, I came across with Mexico and it
reminded me on how this is a reality for millions of kids in Mexico. It is said that more than 20 million children
in Mexico live in poverty and more than five million live in extreme
poverty. What was more depressing to learn was that
more than 14 percent of children under the age of five years old do not develop
or their development is slowed as a result of malnutrition. Also, when children live in poverty it has an
irreversible impact on their development and it increases the probability of
being passed on to future generations.
I
know that 100 food baskets do not nearly feed 1% of those kids living in
extreme poverty however it does help a few children during Christmas time to
bring them food to their table and a little smile of happiness to their faces
during the Holidays. It was impressive
to see that every Christmas those kids would remember us and as soon as we
drove into their terrain they would come running to meet us.
Finally, I would like to share this
video with you.
Hi Janet,
ReplyDeleteWhat a beautiful story of your dad helping the most needed people in Mexico. I imagine the happiness this people felt when they see you guys coming near. It was a great blessing for all in need. I bet it was a relief for those people knowing that they would have a warm meal to eat for a couple of days.
Janet,
ReplyDeleteThat is a great story and a great job that your dad did in Mexico. 1% is much better than none. And I'm sure that 1% that the food baskets did help were more than thankful.
What a wonderful idea! I'm so glad to hear that there are people out there who are as caring and giving as your family. Would you ever consider making baskets for the less fortunate at other points in the year, rather than just Christmas time?
ReplyDeleteThank you for reading my Blogs. I really enjoyed reading your stories. Your blogs were very informative. Keep the good work!
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