This is part 2 of a series about experiences I had and observations I made about food while living in one of the poorest countries in the world. Go here if you’d like to read the introduction!
It was a dusty compound tinted red from the sun glaring off the grainy sediment underneath our feet. Children wrapped in brightly colored clothing sang at the top of their lungs in one building while several women – also sporting patterned skirts – set out lunch in another. One of the benefits of sending your child to summer kids camp was that they were guaranteed two or three full meals for all seven days they were here.
Have you ever heard that advertised for a kids camp?
How about this one: Not only will they get full meals, but if you sign up now your kids will receive much needed medical attention – they’ll be tested for malaria, worms, and anyone suffering from severe malnutrition will receive special treatment from the camp counselors.
In between the games and songs, your children will also be taught important life skills, like brushing teeth, washing hands, and using a squat pot outhouse instead of dropping drawers wherever they are.
This camp is guaranteed to be the highlight of their summer.
You should see the kind of food this camp served. I got to. It was given to me in a plastic bowl, piled generously and steaming – fresh out of the pot. Perfect for 100-degree weather. To this day I’m not positive what was in that bowl. There were definitely beans. Maybe some rice or other starch. And something like jerky that I think someone said was goat meat.
And it was delicious.
I realized something as I dug into that steamy, mushy lunch, sitting in a camp that was in a city at the edge of the largest desert in the world. Food is awesome. What a blessing that we have any.
Sometimes I can be so shallow about food. I get frustrated when I don’t get to make what I’m craving (just ask me about my recent brownie craving and then discovering I didn’t have all the ingredients). I worry about not feeding my kids as healthfully as I would like, and I wonder if someday I’ll pay for the fact that we aren’t eating more organic vegetables. I wonder if I should try to cut our budget even smaller to help make ends meet, but then I get mad when Chris wants to get ice cream and I was saving that money for something I wanted.
Then I remember that bowl of beans-and-rice-and-whatever-else. And I remember that I have very little to complain about. Because I have a lot. I have enough food. I have delicious food. And if I don’t have enough, I have the ability to make more money and buy more food.
I don’t want to down play the struggles that we have with paying our bills and feeding our families. They are real and they are hard. We’ve all had different experiences and some of us have experienced hunger and want on a much deeper level than others. So know that I’m just speaking for myself here. I’ve been through times where my cupboards and my stomach were empty.
I used to – and still often do – scrape the empty peanut butter jar over and over with the butter knife, trying to get every last bit of it before washing and recycling the jar. It was food, and every bit of it was precious.
But my stomach was never empty for long. We had enough. Living in a place of extreme poverty taught me that I am rich, and that I know very little about what it means to truly be hungry. And that’s something I try to remember whether we’re eating beans and rice or steak and salad.
WHAT ABOUT YOU?
Have you had any experiences that showed you how “rich” you were?
Cheers,
12 comments
Cate
01/20/2012 at 7:33 AM (UTC -6)
Great post, Steph.
I’ve never seen poverty of the kind you saw in Africa, but the summer between my junior and senior years of high school, I attended a state arts program. We spent one Saturday doing charity work, and my discipline (creative writing) packed over 10,000 meals for underprivileged children in the area. It was extremely eye-opening to realize that the cheese sandwiches, apples, and milk we were packing might be the only meal the receiving kids ate that day.
Steph
01/23/2012 at 9:17 PM (UTC -6)
It’s eye-opening isn’t it? Very sobering.
Athena
01/20/2012 at 9:28 AM (UTC -6)
When I was deployed to Iraq the first time, I was in a rural region inhabited primarily by bedoin farmers. The local village was very poor. It was very eye-opening to see and made me realize how much we really have in this great country of ours. It made me appreciate being able to feed my family and the numerous other freedoms I enjoy daily. It’s easy to take for granted what we have and it’s easy to forget that what we have is not only a blessing from God, but is being defended for us and others across the globe by the men and women of this country, military, civilian, missionary, and the like.
I love reading this series so far. It’s neat to read about your experiences in Africa and I really enjoy your perspective.
Steph
01/23/2012 at 9:19 PM (UTC -6)
I’m thankful for the time you’ve spent serving your country! Thank you for being a part of what helps preserve our freedoms, Athena.
Wendy (The Local Cook)
01/20/2012 at 9:56 AM (UTC -6)
Where in Africa did you live? I work for an international relief and community development organization and have been blessed to visit our work in Nigeria, Uganda, Zambia, and Malawi. when I was going through one of the darkest times of my life (impending divorce, foreclosure,etc.) I visited India and Bangladesh and was convicted that we are blessed beyond belief to live in the U.S. and have enough to eat.
Steph
01/20/2012 at 3:44 PM (UTC -6)
I lived in Niger, which is right next to and slightly north of Nigeria. That’s great that you got to travel so much and experience various cultures! That’s so eye-opening, isn’t it?
Wendy (The Local Cook)
01/20/2012 at 3:50 PM (UTC -6)
It is! We have staff in Niger, but it is a country with security concerns. I’ve not been there yet but have seen lots of videos and read newsletters.
Mary
01/20/2012 at 11:24 AM (UTC -6)
Thank you. Your thoughts were just what I needed. Food is a blessing I have been taking for granted my whole life. I’ve just begun to realize I need to slow down and gratefully thank God EVERY TIME I eat.
Steph
01/23/2012 at 9:21 PM (UTC -6)
Thanks for the encouragemant! I’m glad these words inspired something for you. I forget to be thankful too sometimes.
Anne @ Quick and Easy Cheap and Healthy
01/21/2012 at 8:43 AM (UTC -6)
Great post! An awesome reminder.
Christin @ Joyful Mothering
01/21/2012 at 1:18 PM (UTC -6)
Thank you for sharing this important perspective. I have never visited Africa or even had a chance to live among people of poverty. But God has given me a heart for the poor in very recent weeks that has taught me a compassion and love I have never known.
I know someday I will get to see firsthand accounts. But I don’t need to see it in order to be moved {and uncomfortable}. Blessings!
Christin @ Joyful Mothering recently posted..New Blogging Community, Free E-Book, and Valentine’s Day
Steph
01/24/2012 at 12:40 PM (UTC -6)
Great point. It’s good to have a tangible experience to know it’s there, but really, we already know poverty is a worldwide problem.