We love our War City kids. We take good care of them. When we first opened our War City community centre for Syrian refugees we debated about food. Our first thought was that the morning break would be a good time to serve them a cookie with the ubiquitous water, that actually is ongoing throughout the day.
Then we stopped and thought again. Dumped issues of budget. Threw out the history of our predecessors. And thought, What If? What if these kids are hungry? What if they don't have breakfast before they come? What if there is no food at home?
We had to feed them. Every day on the way to War City we stop at the bakery. We have a standing order for 35 samun, which is like a kind of enlarged and fluffy pita. On the first day we gave them half a samun ( thinking cost ) which they scoffed in a second, so the next day it became a whole samun with Nutella. The kids are hungry. We added juice in a box, orange or apple. We added cookies or fruit..we alternate. They eat it all. We do indeed have hungry kids and it's a joy to feed them and see them eating.
The other day something quietly happened under our noses. One of our little princesses took a few bites of her round samun. She quietly got up and walked out, bread in hand. She crossed the road, there are no cars to worry about, and walked into her tenement building opposite. She gave her bread to her brother who was sitting outside on the steps, crossed the road and came back. All as quiet as a mouse. But we saw her act of selflessness and love.
A little later I asked her to come to me before she went home. I gathered the remainder of the samun, the cookies and added a jar of Nutella, wrapped it all up in a bag and kept it aside for her. She took it home. No " What Ifs" , we knew.
" There are people in this world so hungry that God can not come to them except in the form of bread". Mr. Gandhi, I agree.
So my last " What If" is this...What If there are some people like our little Nur, who want to feed their hungry brother? What If there are some who can sponsor one of our hungry children at $15 per month to help us feed them ? What If little Nur is teaching us a child like lesson? What If?
Reach out. Food in War. $ 15 for one hungry child, and probably her brother, per month.
