Sunday, June 17, 2012

day 5: a $10 donation

Ok, I'm getting in the rhythm and things are starting to work for me on day 5. I felt like today was a strong day in terms of creating variety and substance spread evenly across the three meals. But thanks to several excellent recommendations from friends and strangers alike, I'm still holding on to some more variety ideas for tomorrow and following.

Today we received a $10 donation through this blog. I want to spend some time discussing this.

A small donation speaks loudly to me. It says, "Although I don't feel that my contribution is significant, I'm going to reject apathy and do something." There are doubtless hundreds who read this blog (I've already had 300+ visitors today) who are compelled to give, but think, "Well, I could afford to give $5 or $10, but what's the point--it's too small to make any difference."

Now multiply that $10 by 300 and you've got $3,000 to work with. Already in the developing world $10 is huge--in many cases it represents 10 days' wages! But then think about what $3,000 could do at our slum outreach project in India! So please, reject indifference, stand against apathy, and give that $1, $5, $10... it's huge! Together, we can make a real difference!

Barefoot update: taking some abuse. Got my first thorn or glass shard, or something that's causing just enough pain to keep me thinking about it. Amazing what I've taken for granted all these years with the ever-present footwear in my life. This has been seriously eye-opening. 

The meal run-down for those of you interested...

I usually play breakfast safe on these challenges, so again I went with the standard 1/3 cup oatmeal and raisins, but today I added pinto beans to the potato and egg breakfast taco, and also had a little side of boiled potatoes, seasoned with season-all and a dash of pepper. It's these little sides that trick your mind and taste buds into thinking you're getting a lot more than you really are.


Lunch. I did an egg fried rice dish, with 1.5 cups cooked brown rice, one fried egg, a leaf of cabbage and a half carrot chopped. Prepared with small splashes of cooking oil (very light), soy sauce and vinegar, seasonings. Combined with my homemade corn chips, it was delicious and relatively filling. Side note: brown rice vs. white rice will sustain you much longer than white rice.



I played it pretty safe with dinner. I had already used my daily ration of cabbage and carrots, so no repeat on the pasta primavera. However, I followed my Italian friend's advice again on the sautée action, combining my daily ration of pasta and ramen noodles, adding some of the ramen seasoning packet for a little kick, plus two tablespoons of pasta sauce... perfetto! With a side of re-fried beans and my homemade corn chips, it was a perfect meal for about 30 cents! Yes, a little light, but really, all I need.


I'm dedicating this blog post to the women involved in our seamstress training program in India. You'll see the kind of sari fabric they work with in the lunch shot above. These women are either widows or living in destitute conditions in the slums of India. When they come through our program, they are so proud to hold their certificates and to start their seamstress businesses. This program is really changing lives. These are women we're taking from living on $1/day to $10/day. It's a huge leap in this part of the world, and an income that is remarkably abundant, all things considered.


Take Action: 

1) 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.


2) Please consider giving toward my goal of 10 scholarships for children of the Indian slums. So far we've raised $610 of our $5,000 goal (10 scholarships).

3) 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'd love to hear from you! It really helps!

1 comment:

  1. Love what you're doing, my donation is on its way :)
    Your blog today reminds me of a Rumi quote, "Don't hide the candle of your clarity. Stand up and burn through the night." cheers~ 1worldstudio

    ReplyDelete