Inter-America: Adventist volunteers feed nearly 1 million in single afternoon
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Call for continued effort to combat hunger; 'Not just once a year,' relief worker says |
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Volunteers fill meal boxes for the Day of Kindness and Compassion held Oct. 11 throughout the Inter-America region. The event was sponsored by the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency (ADRA). [photos: Libna Stevens/IAD]
Church members and young people distributed crates of food to nearly 1 million impoverished people in an effort coinciding with the United Nations World Hunger Day, held Oct. 16.
In Bucaramanga, Colombia, one of many participating locations, volunteers provided haircuts, medical attention, and shower facilities in addition to food.
For 20 of his 35 years, Vladimir Gomez has lived on the streets of Bucaramanga, Colombia, struggling with a drug addiction and begging for money and food.
But on October 11, Gomez was among nearly one million needy people throughout Inter-America who didn't have to worry whether they'd have dinner. In an event reflecting the United Nation's World Hunger Day -- observed October 16 every year -- the Seventh-day Adventist Church and the Adventist Development and Relief Agency collaborated with local governments to promote hunger awareness.
Donations of less than $2 from nearly one million church members and thousands of local young people made the Day of Kindness and Compassion possible across most of Inter-America's 17 church regions, said Bernardo Rodriguez, youth ministries director for the regional church and joint-organizer of the event.
Rodriguez said the event showed that sharing God's love through "acts of kindness" was a powerful means of "proclaiming the gospel."
At the Luis Carlos Galan Civic Plaza in Bucaramanga, church leaders, government officials and thousands of volunteers gathered to feed more than 200 homeless individuals, who were also offered shower facilities, haircuts and medical attention. The effort, broadcast live over the Internet, was one of many participating locations.
"I feel so good, I feel new," said Gomez.
Marloy, a mother of four living in a small wooden house with her children, parents, sister, and two nephews, expressed her gratitude for the event.
"I am so thankful for what you have brought us," Marloy said. "May God bless you for what you are doing," she said.
The governor of Santander and former Interior Minister of Colombia, Horacio Serpa, told the participants in Bucaramanga he was grateful for the church's commitment to following Jesus' example.
"Today I become an ADRA volunteer," Serpa said, after which 15 trucks loaded with meals left the plaza to distribute food throughout the surrounding communities.
The Day of Kindness and Compassion was an opportunity for ADRA and the church to increase its presence in the community, said Wally Amundson, ADRA director for Inter-America.
"I'm sure churches across Inter-America will realize how easy it is and how cost effective it is to do something meaningful in the community like this," Amundson said. "My hope is that each church will continue to think about what they can do in their community from day to day and month to month -- not just once a year."
Church members in various countries are already planning for a repeat activity next year. In addition, countries in three different world church regions have expressed interest in holding similar events in their territories.
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