The Feeding Program

As we mentioned in the previous post, Maison de Lumiere hosts the Feeding Program every Monday, Wednesday and Friday to feed 100 kids that live in the surrounding neighborhood. These kids come from extremely tough backgrounds, for some these are basically the only three meals they eat in a week...and also the only few hours they have in a safe and protected environment where they can just be kids. Today we had the honor of participating in this significant event.

Before lunch the kids played games together - we'll try to post a short video of them playing tomorrow (wifi not cooperating tonight), but above is a photo of one of the games. It was so fun to hear them literally squealing with joy.

In the photo above Emily is hanging out with some of the younger kids who skipped the game and colored instead. The other pre-meal activities included worship and a short bible lesson from Ivans - an amazing guy who serves these kids as their school principal and tremendous example. And then the meal was ready!

Beans, rice, sausage and a vitamin for 100 kids.

The kids all sat at their assigned tables as the food was served to the youngest ones first up through the oldest. Most of the kids ate with relish and smiles on their faces.

One of the more difficult parts of participating in the Feeding Program is seeing the kids who are visibly suffering from malnourishment. Today, one of our team members, Julie had an experience with this. From Julie:

As I was standing there, talking to another kid, a little girl, Dafka (sp?) came up to me and put her arms around my leg and looked up at me asking to be held. Seconds after I picked Dafka up she fell asleep in my arms and slept through all of the games and pre-meal activities (for about an hour). She only woke up a couple of times because she was having a nightmare. When it was time to eat, Ann and I tried to wake Dafka up to feed her, which took a while. She was so weak and so little. She could barely lift her spoon to her mouth, at times I took over the task, and could only eat a portion of what was on her plate and in her cup. Her hair and her eyes bore witness to the fact that she's starving and has been for a significant period of time. It was heartbreaking to hold this little girl, I felt so powerless to do anything other than what I could do in that moment - hold her, love her and feed her. I am still processing through all the emotions seeing a child in that state brings up, but needless to say it's something that has left a lasting impression on my heart.

Julie holding Dafka while watching the other kids play games.

Julie feeding Dafka.

Needless to say, the Feeding Program, along with all of the activities of Maison de Lumiere has a real and tangible impact on the lives of the kids in the community.