On Tuesday, May 15, we went to two sites, one St. James where we took part in a food pantry and the other assisting in an after school program for at Port Ministries.
At St. James, Christina and I were given the task to hand out the bags of food to the men and women that came in during the distribution of the food. One of the first things that struck me was not the amount of people that should up, but the number of bags that they were allowed to have. The system was basically set up in which families of 1-3 persons received two bags of food, and families of 4+persons received 3 bags, and all of them had the option to ask for 1 additional item such as a bar of soap, toilet paper, or toothpaste. The reason why this stuck out to me so much was because those bags were expected to last them for the entire month, and although I can understand this because the food was supposed to be rationed out so that there would be enough for everyone, I thought it was simply amazing how families with 4 or more people are still grateful for receiving just one bag of food. It really showed me that these men and women were really willing to admit that they had needed help and that they were willing to go to food pantries to make sure that their families had food to eat. It really warmed my heart that these people were not only grateful for the food, but they were also excited to meet us and were happy to see our smiling faces as we greeted them a good morning.
Port Ministries was a different experience than anything I was used to. We were told that the students there were from families that either had close to nothing in terms of food/shelter or they were growing up in neighborhoods that were extremely dangerous and didn't challenge them academically. I was extremely surprised when I met these children because I could not imagine living in a place that didn't give you the opportunities necessary to succeed. A lot of these children had the idea that they would not be able to be anything more in life not just because of the effects of a poor education, but because their parents didn't "succeed" and the society they live in don't expect that much from them.
These experiences opened my eyes a lot more to the effects that negative influences may have on young children and how they view the world. I worked with Austin on this day and we tutored two young girls that were around the age of 7. We were told that English was their second language and that they were not able to speak in English very well. However, they were able to read and write beautifully! I think they should be encouraged more and commended for their accomplishments. Overall, that day was extremely rewarding because I was able to learn more about the hardships of being in a society that doesn't have a lot of positive influences, and what it is like to actually help another person by giving them something that they'll need in their everyday life that could make it a little bit easier. I am really looking forward to the other life lessons that will be coming this week.
-Shanice Gilchrist, Class 2014
