Today is
World Food Day. This is a global effort
to end hunger everywhere. Hunger has all
kinds of faces. It includes the children
with distended bellies in third-world countries. It also includes many of my Jasper County
neighbors who aren’t sure where their next meal is coming from. If we all do just a little bit, everyone can
have enough to eat.
Every day I
pack my lunch to take to work. It’s
tastier and cheaper than going out, and it gives me more time to read at
lunchtime since I don’t have to drive to and from a restaurant. One day I sat down to eat the lunch that I
had brought to work. It was toward the
end of the week when I didn’t have much left in the refrigerator before grocery
shopping day. My lunch looked rather
moth-eaten, consisting of a cheese sandwich and an orange from which I had
grated off the rind for some recipe.
However, when I considered that many hungry people would love to have
this, I ate my lunch with a grateful heart.
Perhaps nothing reminds us of delicious,
nourishing food more than our grandmother’s cooking. Here’s a link to a wonderful photo essay of
cooking from grandmothers around the world.
(Make sure to enjoy the artistry of the ingredients on the left and the
finished dishes on the right!) May this be
a prayer for all hungry people everywhere in the world to be fed:
http://www.buzzfeed.com/rachelysanders/dishes-foods-cooked-by-grandmothers-around-the-world
I love to ride my bicycle. In April 2012 I was involved in a serious crash in a bicycle race. A Year of Centuries is a way for me to express my gratitude for my recovery from the crash. In 2013 I will ride one century (100 miles in a single ride) each month. Each century will highlight a charitable organization that is particularly meaningful to me. I hope you’ll come along for the ride, supporting these groups and maybe even pedaling a few miles with me! - Betty Jean Jordan
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Charity Logo
Charity of the Month
CHARITY OF THE MONTH - HEIFER INTERNATIONAL
In December I am riding for Heifer International. Founded in 1944, Heifer International works with communities around the world to end hunger and poverty and to care for the Earth. Its approach is more than a handout. Heifer provides animals (e.g., heifers, goats, water buffalos, chickens, rabbits, fish, and bees) and training to impoverished people in over 30 countries. The animals can give milk, meat, or eggs; provide draft power; or form the basis of a small business. Communities make their own decisions about what crops, animals, and market strategies make sense for their everyday conditions and experiences.
Heifer International is based on 12 Cornerstones, such as Sustainability; Genuine Need and Justice; and Gender and Family Focus. Perhaps the best known Cornerstone is Passing on the Gift, in which Heifer recipient families pass on the offspring of their animals to others in need. In this way, whole communities can raise their standard of living.
A donation to Heifer International also can make a wonderful alternative holiday gift. Instead of yet another sweater for Grandma that she really doesn’t need, why not donate a Heifer animal or a share of an animal in her honor? Does your child really need so many new toys? Instead of five new toys, give him/her three new toys and a Heifer flock of chicks. Heifer has honor cards to let your loved ones know of your gift on their behalf.
I have set up a Team Heifer page to support Heifer International through A Year of Centuries. My goal is to raise $500. Please make your donation through https://teamheifer.heifer.org/AYearofCenturies. If you would like more information about Heifer’s work, please visit www.heifer.org. Whether you give to honor a loved one or make a regular donation, thank you for taking steps to transform the world for the better.
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