bread&water was featured as a partner organization at the OneHouse Concert of Prayer and Justice Fair on June 7, 2008. OneHouse is a community that seeks to unify and mobilize churches, particularly among Asian Amerians in New York City, to serve global and local communities and to honor Christ’s love for the oppressed. bread&water presented its projects, service opportunities, and The Giving Tree at the OneHouse Justice Fair, where participants were able to both learn about a variety of justice organizations and sign-up to get involved. Our ongoing partnership with OneHouse has provided us with opportunities to advocate for our field partners and educate the community about tangible ways to address global poverty.
~Joanna Yip, OneHouse co-Chair and Education Advocate, Partner Relations, bread&water
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The van’s wheels stirred up little dust storms as we drove farther & farther away from Bangalore — India’s high tech metropolis — into the rural outskirts. We were on our way to KGF, or the Kolar Gold Fields, which was a colonial mining settlement about 22 kilometers from Bangalore. Peculiar rock formations in random or juxtaposed positions were in the distance. Watching my teammate’s unsuccessful attempts to snap photos away that flash before us, I searched for a more constant focal point. Aimlessness – or rather uncertainty, I should say, has a way of making me nervous. “Who would I meet…and what will I see?”
the ground. There were a dozen women nearby, squatting patiently, some with infants sleeping undisturbed on their mom’s backs. Upon a closer look, some of the children’s socks were held in place by rubberbands and shoes with worn heels and torn shoelaces. A few had nothing on their feet at all. The children, however, wore their pressed uniforms with pride. In the sea of navy blue outfits & striped ties, a boy in a red sweater gazed at me with his half opened right eye. He was not sleepy, no… a part of his right cheek was swollen and it was difficult for him to open his eye entirely.
We were seated and honored with fresh wreathes around our necks, dainty white florets and colorful unknown blossoms. “This feels like royal treatment!” I thought, “But why are they serving us?” They serenaded us with songs, twirling their arms and shuffling their feet. Their bangles on their wrists let our crisp rings, as cascade of sounds
I returned to the temporary medical clinic soon after. I tried very hard to learn all the drugs’ names and
their uses. The dizzying array of colors and shapes became a challenge for me as I try to distinguish the difference between this pill or that tablet. Even something as simple as a vitamin is coveted. Though they might not be ill, it comforts them when they have something tangible to take home. We gave out the vitamins as much as we can. Those that have no cough or cold symptoms we still gave them the cough syrup or cold medicine.
Many of them have ailments that are hard to treat in that instant moment. At first we were very generous
with our time, explaining and asking thorough questions. But we soon discovered that to be expedient is the key. Some are not ill at all but would tell us that they’re coughing or have fever. We realized later that this was their way of making sure that they’d have medicine in the future, lest they themselves or their children become ill. Who knows when will be next time the doctors and the medicine are here again?
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our Savior. A good friend and I decided to throw a holiday party at an NYC lounge this past Christmas season, but we realized immediately that parties are typically thrown without any further consideration beyond the aspects of merriment, dancing, and expensive drinks. We chose to host an informal charity instead, not for the sake of being trendy or following the fad, but to understand that there are people who need help outside of our lifestyles. We did not want to consider an “Oh, another charity event?” attitude, but considered breaking away from our social ethos and recognize the simple fact that helping someone out on the other side of the world is a conscious, individual, and simple effort.
bread&water gave us a platform to exercise that simple idea. Buy your drink. Toast to the New Year. Take your change, and put it in the stockings. Receive a pamphlet about bread&water to learn more about how you can contribute to the School for Disadvantaged Nepali Children in Assam India, or for the many other projects they are doing around the world.
We raised over $500 through friends who came out to an otherwise chilly and stormy night. We are glad to know that bread&water will put 100% of that to effective use for tuition, room and board for these Nepali children who require basic needs, quality education, and the love of Christ. More importantly, we hope our event enabled others to think of ways they can propel a cause in creative and engaging ways.
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