 What is REAL hunger? We’ve all had the experience of being hungry… but usually this only means skipping a meal or going without food for several hours.
But imagine going for days without anything to eat. Imagine having nothing to feed your suffering children, who cry out in pain from hunger.
 |
 |
Hungry Haitians wait in line for food at a feeding center. |
Food For The Poor invites you to participate in our “first Friday fast” program — an initiative in which a small monthly donation can make a tremendous difference. By dedicating one day each month to a small change in daily routine, and by sharing what you have with others, you can sustain the lives of those who have nowhere else to turn.
Participants in this program choose one day every month (often a “first Friday”) as a day to break from the usual routine and focus on the issue of global hunger. By limiting meals that day and directing thoughts toward those living in poverty-stricken nations, participants grow in awareness of our brothers and sisters in Haiti.
The money that would have been spent on food is then donated to Food For The Poor to help feed hungry families. Your act of self-sacrifice will benefit those who go without food regularly.
You already know the importance of feeding malnourished families. And through previous acts of compassion and generosity, you’ve helped provide lifesaving relief to those in need. Food For The Poor invites you to take up the challenge once again by fasting one day a month and donating the proceeds to help others.
How much should you give? That’s up to you. A gift of only $12 will feed an entire family for a month. Larger gifts will help even more.
Skip the coffee, a sandwich, or the dessert for a day, and help a hungry family feed their children. Your gift will provide lifesaving nutrition — and hope — to those in great need. |
|
“Blessed are they who are generous because they feed the poor.”
(Proverbs 22:9)
Helping people lift themselves out of extreme poverty is very complex and can be a daunting challenge, especially in a place like Haiti where the problems were tremendous even before the 2010 earthquake. Haitians were unable to access their basic nutritional needs for many years prior to the horrendous earthquake the rocked the country and caused so much devastation.
We who are Christians have a mandate to reach out and help our fellow brothers and sisters in need, as Christ commanded us to do. Sometimes a single act of compassion can alter the course of an entire life. Our Food For The Poor staff and partners in Haiti witness this weekly at our feeding center in Port-au-Prince. This feeding center is open six days a week, providing hot meals to feed about 15,000 people a day. Your donation this month helps support this and other such feeding programs. For destitute families who’ve been entangled in the cycle of poverty for generations, a reliable source of food can offer new life and new hope.
Your sacrificial donation this month to feed the hungry is that act of compassion that gives life and hope. You may never know if you helped save a life, but your gift is life-saving to so many. Thank you for your generosity.
“The poor have a treasure to offer precisely because they cannot return our favors. By not paying us for what we have done for them, they call us to inner freedom, selflessness, generosity, and true care.”
— Henri J. M. Nouwen
|