day 16: just feed one

I'm growing lethargic and struggling with headaches. But I'm overcoming and encouraged to know that I have more days behind me than in front of me. I just keep drinking a lot of water and going from meal to meal. Each meal provides quite a boost to morale once I get through the puzzle of trying to figure out something creative to make with my limited ingredients.

But again I realize this is no challenge at all compared to what the people of the slums go through on a daily basis. However, I have reached that point in the experience where I am really identifying (in my own little way) with their struggles. Just think of being really hungry and you go to the pantry and you find this--every time. (A photo I took this morning, at the beginning of the second 15 days. This is what remains of the $30 of food I bought--it must last me for the next 15 days).

I'm dedicating day 16 to these girls who literally live in a trash dump in the city of Hyderabad, India. I found them wandering around (of course barefoot) with no parents in sight. I lingered until I saw what looked to be an older sister call them away. Their feet and clothes were filthy. Inside the shanty shelter behind them, there are bags of dirty pieces of trash that are waiting to be sorted and sold as recyclable materials. That's the way the people of the slums get by. I'm thinking of them tonight.

This was the first day of challenge that we received $0 in donations. A little discouraging but I knew this day would come. It's ok, I'm not stopping. But for their sake, I'd like to ask you, would you consider chipping in even a small amount?

I'm getting about 250 visits a day from all around the world. If each person visiting just gave $1 or $5, just imagine how quickly we'd reach the goal of rescuing 10 of these kids from the trash dump? At the Children's Hope Center in Hyderabad, we're cleaning them up and getting them into school, with shoes, uniforms, supplies, hygiene needs, and daily fresh meals! But we can't do it alone. That's where you come in. Make that decision to do something about this. A small donation says, "I can't solve it all but I want to do something, I want to overcome indifference."

I love this Mother Teresa quote.

“If you can't feed a hundred people, then just feed one.”

Thank you, Teresa! That's right!

It takes me back to our day 12 mantra... "One Dollar, One Child, One Hope." 

One dollar buys about one day out of the trash heap for these kids. It buys hope. It really does.

If everyone just does their small part, we can change the slums forever, one child at a time.

On to what I managed to do with my $1 today. Remember that a big point of this blog is to show you that living off of a $1 of food per day in America is not really that horrible. Lack of variety and smaller quantities, yes, but it's not slum life. I hope it makes you think about what you're eating and if you really need to spend as much as you do. Here's what I cooked up...

Breakfast. A one-egg cabbage omelette, which I highly recommend. Something about cabbage with eggs, very satisfying. Usual 1/4 cup of oatmeal with raisins. Not much but enough to get the day started right. ▼

Lunch. Improvised the salad again. Instead of toasted ramen noodles, I tried hash browns. With a few splashes of vinegar I bought from my existing stock with my seasonings allowance, it was really delicious. It was a lot of trouble, but for the sake of variety I prepared one corn tortilla taquito, stuffed with re-fried beans and brown rice--a complete protein. ▼

Dinner. It was back to the usual again tonight. But it's not bad, really. I love the homemade corn chips with a small serving of re-fried beans. It really adds a lot to the meal. Prepared the bean, rice and noodle soup with my usual 1/3 brick of ramen noodles and 1/3 cup of penne pasta. It does the job. ▼

Take Action!

1) Please consider giving toward my goal of 10 scholarships for children of the Indian slums. So far we've raised $2,780 of my $5,000 goal to cover 10 scholarships. Every little bit helps!

2) Please visit my unofficial sponsor, Amazon.com through this link. 7% of your purchases made through the link are given to Peace Gospel. If you're in the UK, use this link.

3) If you're compelled by my effort here, please share it with friends. The main goal is awareness. So if you can help with that, huge.

4) Leave me feedback. Please comment on this post, especially if you have any ideas about what I should try to cook with these ingredients I have available. I love hearing from you! It really helps!