Food at Last!

Greetings once again from Indonesia. Today, we were in the village of Wunga to complete the last of our first month’s food distributions. At the end of our work, we enjoyed a meal of rice, fish and soup that was prepared by some of the ladies in the village while the distribution committee was busy dispensing food.

As we finished our meal, we looked across the road and saw a woman in her kitchen measuring out some of the rice she had just received. She was preparing to cook a much anticipated meal for her family! It was a good moment where we could see the result of our work in a tangible way.

Since we last communicated, we have attended distributions of food to people in five villages. Each was done inside a church building to provide shade and a good means to control the movement of the people. After some welcome speeches and instructions, the heads of the beneficiary groups were called forward and they lined up to register and sign their beneficiary cards.

Next, they walked along the well organized path of food. Each of the beneficiary groups received two litres of oil, eight kg of mung beans and, depending on the number of people in their group, several ten kg bags of rice. As they passed through the exit, they also received a large 50 kg bag of rice.

Each of these group leaders moved their supplies a short distance away to wait until help arrived to carry or transport their portion to their homes – often many kilometers away.

Others, who are part of a consolidated beneficiary group, took their bags to the weigh-scales we provided. There, they divided the portions fairly among the households that make up their group.

This fair distribution is a top priority for many in the villages. They have been hungry and want to make sure that each family takes home the exact amount of rice promised to them. Rice is central to every meal- a meal with out rice is not considered a meal. Once the rice is divided fairly, they begin their journey home. They will divide the mung beans and oil with the people in their group once they get back.

This serious looking young woman’s name is Yati. She lives in the hills of Kalamba with her husband and three children aged twelve, ten and four. She also cares for a one-year-old niece whose parents work and live in Waingapu.

Yati and her husband farm corn on one half hectare of land. This year, she is concerned that due to inconsistent rains, the crop may whither altogether or at best will produce only minimal harvest. They have four chickens and one rooster that they are saving in case they need to sell an animal to purchase food in the future.

Right now, they family is surviving by eating iwi. This root is found in a forest far from home and requires much water and a strict process to remove toxins from it before it is edible. To complicate matters even further, the distance to water for this family is two kilometers down a steep hill and back up again from a spring that is deep in the valley.

The process to obtain and cook iwi takes up almost more energy than it provides, but it has allowed families like Yati’s to survive during this time of drought.

Stories like Yati’s make us feel really blessed to be able to be part of this food distribution ministry. It was heartening to see the beneficiaries collect their food with a look of great relief on their faces. During the opening remarks they were reminded that there is an expectation that they will do community work in return for the food. It is something they are happy to do.

They were also informed that this food is for everyone regardless of their belief system and that God cares about each one of them.

We feel so honoured to represent World Renew and its support community through this CFGB food security project. Thank you for your faithful and generous giving to help the people in the villages that are being served through this project!