34 million tons vs 7300 pounds

A couple of weeks ago we went to Tole, a small village not too far from Buea, where most of the people living there work on the tea plantations located just right there.

A donor from Australia sent $200 to put light at the Home Solace, to get gifts of the kids for Christmas and to help a couple of families in Tole.

The families One is integrated by three adults, an elder lady and her two sons, all of them blind, but smart and very independent, they make soaps to sell and get an income to pay for their food and everything else. The other family is integrated by four members, the mom and three little kids, a girl of about 6 years, a boy of 4 years and a girl 2 years. The mom is blind and doesn’t have the support (economically or morally) of her children’s father.

We went to the village with the purpose of give the first family money so they can buy materials to make more soaps and get money from them and give food and clothes to the other family, but while I was there I saw something for the first time in my life, something that made me think on what I’m writing now...an old man was cooking a dog!!!..yessssss!!! a dog! He was cooking the dog on fire and pealing it with a machete.

And here it comes…when I asked why they eat dog, they explained me that a dog will give them enough meat to feed a lot of people and since they can’t afford to get cows, well, they have to eat dogs.

It might seem wrong, against animal rights, not healthy, etc., but the truth is that they need something to eat, they must survive and we can’t judge them for it…we can’t say anything…Why??... Because while US generates every year 34 million tons of food waste …34 million tons!!! The people in Tole have to eat a 20 pounds dog because they don’t have another option! Even if they kill a dog each day, that would be 7300 pounds a year.  Who are we to jugde?!

Now…think about it, 34 million tons vs 7300 pounds!!

We go to a restaurant and order food and if we don’t want anymore, we just leave it there and it will go to the trash, we cook at home and we have leftovers...they go to the trash, all the fast food and buffet restaurants make food that they don’t even use, no one eats it and it goes to the trash…that’s only prepared food. What happens to the expired food?...Goes to the trash as well.

Human beings can be smarter than the rest of the animals, but we haven’t found a way of feeding millions of persons who suffer of hunger and knowing that millions of tons of food waste are generated every year in the World.

So let’s do what we can to help others to eat well! There is always something we can do.