Have we Helped?

Several events and conversations have converged the past couple days which are making me rethink some activities.

In no particular order they include:

1) Visit from the new director of Hope Again in Hollywood. This group does a tremendous job of reaching out to druggies, abused, alcoholics and others who end up homeless in the Hollywood area. They deal with psychological, physical, educational and spiritual issues. Goal is always to put them back out in society as a productive and fully functioning participant of the human race.

2) Knock on my office door after hours from an obviously inebriated man who insisted we come and give him food, for his two small children (who were no where present). When I told him he would need to return during office hours, he ended up wandering through an open door and began exploring a kitchen in our E building.

3) A 2 minute video clip from Mindanao sent by Stan, who is there looking over some of our micro-financing projects. We saw pigs. Lots of pigs. Big pigs. From a meager start, farmers now are about to harvest the first batch. Unbelievable how fast one male pig and five females can produce bacon. This is all part of helping people have a livelihood instead of giving them a handout.Hmmm.... Why is it that overseas we have concluded giving handouts is really not helping anyone yet we keep doing it here at home? I don't know how many tons of food we send out our doors each year. I do know there is a steady stream of people. Surely feels good to know that hungry people are getting food to eat.

But in Hollywood, Hope Again, insists the deeper issues of unemployment and sobriety be dealt with. They don't just give handouts. In Mindanao we have concluded handouts from the USA is no long term solution. Meanwhile here in Glendora,we just keep giving out food with no long term additional support.

Just some glocal thoughts. Hmmmm