Starving

by Danielle Martin

How would you feel if you returned from school everyday to find an empty fridge? How would you feel if you only got one meal a day - if any?

I never used to know how to even begin answering those kinds of questions. I used to think it was too terrible to imagine. When I thought of starving, I defined it as skipping breakfast and having to wait a few hours for lunch then coming home for dinner.

Then, I visited Hazon Yeshaya Soup Kitchens in Jerusalem. I realised that my definition of starvation was extremely inaccurate. I knew there were poor, homeless people in the world but I had no idea that there were so many. We hear about children in Africa and victims of the Tsunami in Thailand, but we have no clue when it comes to Israeli men, women and children suffering in the streets of Israel, our holy land, due to hunger and poverty.

My parents are involved in raising money for Hazon Yeshaya. As you know, because of all the terrorist attacks in Israel, tourism has dropped and hotel and restaurant staffs have lost their jobs. The government in Israel has had to spend money on security and the army, so they haven't been able to give so much money to old people or people who live below the poverty line. I think it is extremely upsetting that poor, innocent, Israeli civilians are suffering due to lack of food simply because their country cannot afford to supply them with enough food. Fortunately, now tourism and business are improving but there are still a lot of unemployed, truly starving people.

On a recent holiday to Israel with my school, we visited Hazon Yeshaya Soup Kitchen in Jerusalem. We were shown around the kitchen where they cook 7,000 meals a day. Here, we served food and helped to peel potatoes – boy, they use a lot! However terrible it felt to watch homeless and starving people greedily eat plates and portions of soup, chicken and potatoes, I will never forget the looks on their faces as they saw the first meal they had eaten in 24 hours.

Kids program at the Hazon Yeshaya soup kitchens.

Also, we saw old people coming to collect parcels of food – some of them were survivors of the Shoah and Jews who fled Communist Russia, and it was heartbreaking to see them lining up for food again. The soup kitchen prepares meals to be delivered to schools and afternoon clubs all over Israel for kids whose fridges are empty, so that they can at least have one good meal a day.

So Hazon Yeshaya is the charity that I choose to support, because I know that there are kids like us who really are starving, and I don't use that expression any more.

You can buy Purim cards to support Hazon Yeshaya – see their website (www.hazonyeshaya.org).

Write to Danielle at write@ttt.org.il

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