Day 8

Good Evening!

Today, Monday 16th August 2010, has been difficult for me. The hunger has really hit me today and I found that I was very faint this morning until about 10am. Then the faintness returned this evening and I feel quite light-headed as I write.

Breakfast has become my most important meal. I go to bed hungry and wake up hungry but I can re-instate some equilibrium by 10am ish by eating a good breakfast. I have no idea how I would manage in real life where I would have to fetch my water before I could even cook. It is bad enough refiling our gallon bottles at HEB (you will recall our broken water softener).

I 'stole' food at lunch time. It was new faculty orientation. I had taken my rice but, after everyone had eaten, some vegetable wraps remained uneaten. I have to confess to being so hungry that I took the vegetables out of the wraps to eat with my rice. Of course, had I been a real slave/street kid I would have taken everything I could but I felt that I couldn't be at all true to my principles if I just ate lunch, regardless of my hunger!

This evening as a roast beef and Yorkshire pudding dinner in our house; so I had the vicarious pleasure of the smells and sight of fabulous food.

Tomorrow is the full faculty meeting for a day. I will take my rice and try to remain unmoved by the sight of uneaten food. After living on this diet, I am not sure I shall ever be able to accept food waste again.

Having re-read this post I do sound as if I am whinging. Sorry, the new TV footage of the floods in Pakistan and the extent of the plight of 27million people keeps me focused. Of course, 27 million is an interesting figure because that is the number of slaves in our world.

You don't have to donate to make a difference - read Judy Westwater's autobiographical book "Street Kid", and then give it to someone else to read. Tell your friends, acquaintances, everyone...

To donate:
www.freetheslaves.com
www.streetchildren.org.uk
Pegasus Children's Trust
www.unicefusa.org - to help the flood victims.