Celebrating 25 Years of Feeding
The Hungry
Twenty-five years
ago Operation Blessing’s staff couldn’t possibly foresee that
passing out a few food baskets to hungry Americans would turn into the international
Hunger Relief program it has become today! With the help of our partners,
poor adults and children around the world receive some kind of food assistance
every day. Today, elderly Romanians and Ukrainians are eating a hot meal
in several OBI sponsored soup kitchens. Today, Hunger Strike Force trucks
are delivering donated groceries into the hands of hungry households across
the United States. Butch is the head of one such household… .
Poor health finally forced Butch
into taking an early retirement this winter. As his family’s sole
provider, he sadly watched the medical bills quickly eat away their life-savings.
Devastated, the 60-year-old man couldn’t begin to make it on monthly
social security checks alone. Butch began exploring other possibilities
for his family’s future and found New Creations.
As part of Operation Blessing’s network in Indiana, New Creations
regularly receives loads of food from the Hunger Strike Force. They were
able to give Butch enough food for the family to get through until the
next assistance check. However, this only solved the short-term problem.
Butch needed to be able to find a job that would allow him to work at
home. New Creations’ staff learned that he was skilled in repairing
computers. They began referring customers to him! When old computers and
printers are donated, they also send them to him so that he can use the
parts.
Providing food relief doesn’t just come in a bag. A world away
in India, Mahesh used his untapped skills by selling peanuts everyday.
The 7-year-old’s parents had contracted AIDS and had been rejected
by relatives. Mahesh’s family found themselves living in a slum.
Instead of going to school, he helped provide for his family. Food was
scarce and he couldn’t live on peanuts!
Desperate for her son’s welfare, Mahesh’s mother ran across
an Operation Blessing sponsored slum school. Mahesh was invited to join
the free program. For two hours every day he learned new lessons and was
given a nutritious lunch! Mahesh quickly excelled at his studies and soon
was accepted into a government school.
Twenty-five years ago Operation Blessing began feeding the hungry and
comforting the hurting. As we celebrate our silver anniversary this year,
we march on toward the gold. Join us in celebrating by helping to feed
the hungry men, women and children that surround us.
Your gift of $25 can feed a hungry American family of four for an entire
month! When’s the last time your monthly grocery bill was $25?
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