On Saturday, January 20 Cathy and I had an opportunity to give some of our time in meeting the needs of starving children throughout the world. We joined a group of Darien Lions and others at the “Feed My Starving Children” facility in Aurora. We were part of a group of over 140 volunteers who were divided into groups of 11 -12, with each group member having a specific task in filling, weighing, sealing and packing “MannaPacks” that represented a meal for a starving child. The MannaPacks our group produced were designated for children in the Philippines. Each of these packs were specifically designed to assist in reversing and preventing undernutrition, with each one containing vitamins, vegetables, soy and rice that when opened and boiled would serve as a meal for several children.
When the event concluded, we met as a large group in their meeting room where staff shared the results of our work with us, and informed us as to how many individuals would be fed due to our efforts. We also had an opportunity to learn about the children in these various countries, and the impact that our effort would have on their survival. When one sees the poverty and malnutrition that exists in many of these areas, it leads you to believe that you played a small role in possibly saving a child’s life. That kind of intrinsic reward was well worth the hours we gave to this program, and it will probably lead to our finding time in the future when we will once again join this effort so that we can help assure that all these children are fed.