Poverty Exists…Everywhere
Traveling and working overseas for the bulk of each year, my abbreviated visits home, to Omaha Nebraska, tend to revolve around family and friends. But this holiday season I wanted to dedicate a small portion of my time to a larger family. The Omaha family.
I have traveled through many developing countries and seen poverty in its most raw forms. Malnourished children begging for scraps, lepers pushing themselves through the streets on battered skateboards, mothers huddled on street corners with young children clinging to their rags and slum communities where tin shards quantify home. But poverty doesn’t just exist in third world countries. It exists everywhere!
Individuals forced to sleep on the street, parents who cannot find jobs to feed their young families and the mentally unstable who wander through life alone. This is Omaha’s impoverished community. A community I had the pleasure of meeting today.
I have traveled through many developing countries and seen poverty in its most raw forms. Malnourished children begging for scraps, lepers pushing themselves through the streets on battered skateboards, mothers huddled on street corners with young children clinging to their rags and slum communities where tin shards quantify home. But poverty doesn’t just exist in third world countries. It exists everywhere!
Individuals forced to sleep on the street, parents who cannot find jobs to feed their young families and the mentally unstable who wander through life alone. This is Omaha’s impoverished community. A community I had the pleasure of meeting today.
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Plastic gloves…apron…hairnet…(uh, I’ll vouch for a baseball cap), “Hot food coming in!” Clank! Clank! Suspended over two long steaming baths of water, one stainless steel chafing dish after the next slid into the line up. Carefully removing each red-hot lid, decadent side dishes and entrees were revealed. Herbed salmon, barbeque chicken wings, clam chowder, cold pasta salads, crisp greens, buttered carrots and some of the biggest and most vibrant green broccoli florets I have ever seen. My preconceived notions of what “free food” would be evaporated into the fragrant steam of each entrée.
“Would you like broccoli and carrots sir?” Manning the end of the hot food line provided the opportunity to wish everyone an enjoyable meal. Some diners chose words of gratitude while others relied on simple, heartfelt smiles but everyone wore appreciation on their sleeves. An appreciation I shared for them. Thanks to my beautiful friend and regular Open Door Mission volunteer, Julie Etta Hudson, I was able to assist in one of the three meals served daily. I felt silly, down right dumb, for never realizing just how many meals the Open Door Mission served. Two thousand…a day!! Julie informed me that most of the food was donated by Omaha restaurants, grocery stores, bakeries and private financiers. She joked, “Claude and Ramon (the primary chefs) never know what’s coming through the door but they always turn out incredible meals!” Iron Chef eat your heart out, I mused. |
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After the lunch service ended and the cleaning process commenced, Julie offered a sampling of the left over food. After all, aesthetics are only part of the culinary battle. The beef chili had more chunks of prime steak then a slaughter house stew, the pasta salad sung with a creamy zing and the cinnamon cream bananas, well, I could have eaten three bowls full. This was far from “homeless” food, this was top notch, culinary wizardry.
Beaming with appreciation for the team of volunteers and employees who dedicate their lives to this service, my heart further swelled when I learned one of the open door mission coordinators was raised in this very establishment. The Open Door Mission is more then just a cafeteria. It consists of 7 separate buildings, offering 816 shelter beds to homeless men, women and children and preventive measures to more than 275 people living in poverty. Now, as an adult, this coordinator has devoted his life to the service of others in all too familiar of positions. Selfless people like him are who keep the mission doors open. You know who you are and I applaud your efforts my friend. A true inspiration to us all.
Departing the steamy kitchen, a frosty wind met our skin but no amount of Nebraska winter could deplete the warm, fuzzy feeling glowing inside. An irony of volunteer work. We think we are helping others when in reality we are also helping ourselves. Recognizing that "help" is a two-way street is one of life's great rewards.
Holiday season or not, international or domestic, jarringly apparent or relatively hidden, poverty exists everywhere. Let this blog be a reminder of the simple acts we can do to lend a helping hand in our communities. Big thanks to everyone at Omaha's Open Door Mission for the incredible work you do every single day!
Beaming with appreciation for the team of volunteers and employees who dedicate their lives to this service, my heart further swelled when I learned one of the open door mission coordinators was raised in this very establishment. The Open Door Mission is more then just a cafeteria. It consists of 7 separate buildings, offering 816 shelter beds to homeless men, women and children and preventive measures to more than 275 people living in poverty. Now, as an adult, this coordinator has devoted his life to the service of others in all too familiar of positions. Selfless people like him are who keep the mission doors open. You know who you are and I applaud your efforts my friend. A true inspiration to us all.
Departing the steamy kitchen, a frosty wind met our skin but no amount of Nebraska winter could deplete the warm, fuzzy feeling glowing inside. An irony of volunteer work. We think we are helping others when in reality we are also helping ourselves. Recognizing that "help" is a two-way street is one of life's great rewards.
Holiday season or not, international or domestic, jarringly apparent or relatively hidden, poverty exists everywhere. Let this blog be a reminder of the simple acts we can do to lend a helping hand in our communities. Big thanks to everyone at Omaha's Open Door Mission for the incredible work you do every single day!
For more information about the Omaha Open Door Mission or to help volunteer, please visit: http://www.opendoormission.org
