Last night, we got to go out on the streets again and feed the homeless.
We hear about “feeding the homeless” all the time, and sure, it’s a great thing to do. But I don’t think we always stop and realize what this means. These people, these kids, are living on the street. They survive by going through garbage trying to find food and sniffing glue to become so high they can barely feel the hunger.
The streets are lined with prostitutes looking for “work” and kids searching for somebody to care about them. You can see it in their eyes – they just want to be loved, they just want to feel like they matter.
At one of the stops, Anna has befriended two little girls. When we arrived, she called for them and they came running into her arms with the biggest smiles. This is what it’s all about. Showing kids they’re loved. Showing kids that they’re not alone.
Naty wanted me and Esther to see where some of these people lived, so we walked down an alley that was beside a river. The “homes” were cardboard boxes with maybe a tattered mattress. This was their home. A cardboard box. It’s hard to believe it’s real even when you’re standing right in front of it.
The final stopped crushed me. There were three little boys, high on glue, living in a broken down truck. One of them had been on the streets for over a year and hadn’t seen his Mom since he left. He’s only 12. The other boy had been on the streets for 4 weeks and was very sick…he’s only 9. While Gordon and Anna talked to the 2 boys, hearing their stories, I asked the other kid what his name was. He immediately pulled a big coat over his head and ran away! A few minutes later he came back and curled up on the ground, his whole body enveloped in the coat. He would slowly peak out of the coat and dart back in whenever I looked over. I sat down on the sidewalk beside him and noticed him giggling! We were playing a game! His giggles kept growing as he played peek-a-boo with this strange gringo girl! Even kids on the street, high on glue, with no home, no food, are still kids. Because we’re all just human.
And that’s the heart of it. We’re all just human. It’s not about “rich people” helping poor people. It’s about humans helping humans.