Hello, dear hive community friends. Good morning and best wishes. Today I would like to share an old story of mine and my experience last Friday when I shared basic food items. Years ago, I used to do this too, but illegally.
From 2008 to 2017, I often committed theft. I admit it was wrong and careless. I would often burglarize the homes of wealthy people, and I would buy food for people who needed to eat.
Although I didn't come from a rich family, my parents and my older sister could still afford to feed me. The reason I steal is not that I'm hungry, but because I see people on the streets having a hard time getting money to buy food. Motivators say that people are rich because they work hard and people are poor because they are lazy. But what I see is that many people work exhaustingly, but are still poor.
Incidentally, in the neighbourhood where I live, many unemployed youths often steal and rob rich people. Usually, they commit crimes for themselves. Most of them use the money from their crimes to have fun and buy drugs. I join them in theft, and my share goes to people who find it difficult to buy food.
Although it was wrong to share the stolen food, I couldn't help them in any other way. Besides, I was still in school that year and couldn't earn money on my own. But now, I can earn my own money even though it is not much I collect little by little to share with others. Last Friday, I shared basic food items with 10 people in need.
From my writing at Hive and other freelance work, I set aside a small amount to collect. With the money that I collected over a few months, I bought 20 kilograms of rice in 10 packets of rice. So, each pack got 2 kilograms of rice. I also added tea, sardines and instant noodles inside each pack.
Riding my motorcycle, I gave the packets to people who I thought deserved them, such as pedicab drivers, garbage collectors, beggars, and an old lady cleaning shoes. All of them were elderly people. In my opinion, they should be enjoying their old age, sitting on the terrace of their house enjoying coffee or tea. But life forces those old bodies to work for food.
I once read a book in which food was considered a powerful political weapon. The book explained that powerful governments have used control over the food supply to force citizens to comply with government policies and to discourage citizens who oppose the government or the state.
So, by sharing basic food resources, I am not only helping those in need but also fighting back against the government and state that controls citizens with food supplies. Distributing food to the poor for me gives power to people who are hungry and alienated by the political system and the state. I don't want people to go hungry because of the difficult economy. I can only help a little because I am only doing it individually.
Hopefully, what I'm doing and sharing today, can be an inspiration for my friends here. Open your eyes and hearts to help those who find it difficult to get food, especially the elderly. I always pray that hunger will no longer be something that I often encounter. This is all I can say, I hope you like it. Best regards.