2020 has been a year with more than its fair share of challenges. Every one of us has been affected in one way or another. Every one of us has had our limits tested physically, spiritually, socially, and emotionally. Every one of us has dealt with some kind of loss. 2020 has stretched us, grown us, and taught us a lot. While I think we all would agree that we would not want to repeat this past year, I also believe that we would also say that we would not want to trade away what we have learned. As 2020 draws to a close, and I reflect back on the events of this year, what stands out for me the most is how people have rallied together to support each other. I love hearing the stories of people caring for their neighbors and family members in need. What I love even more is how people are even moved to support those they do not know. I had a first-hand experience with this.
Our company and foundation occasionally will put out a call for assistance. We don’t do this too often; only when there is a pressing need and people are suffering, like when Mozambique was devastated by a cyclone. When we put out requests for donations for such causes, we truly are overwhelmed by the goodness that pours out of people.
When the COVID restrictions were imposed in Mozambique, our thoughts and attentions immediately turned to the many families in our impoverished communities where our Sunshine Houses are located. We serve many of these families through our Beacons of Light community projects for at-risk, vulnerable children. How would these families, who were already living below the extreme poverty line, be able to survive with the little opportunity they had? We watched to see how they would fare. After only a month of seeing them endure the restrictions that made it difficult for them to make a living and provide for their families, we decided it was time to intervene.
Our company and foundation are very much against hand-outs. Hand-outs create dependency and entitlement. We exist to give people a hand-up. But there are times when people do need support, times when they cannot lift themselves up. We knew that we had the capacity to come alongside the struggling families in our community where we live and work. Yet we were concerned about how it would affect our budget and ability to keep providing for our Sunshine families. This is why we put out personal requests on social media to our family, friends, and supporters to give donations for food boxes. We were hoping to receive enough funds to put together food boxes for the 40 families of the children who attend our community projects. To be honest, we were not expecting a big response. We knew how concerned people were about their own financial stability and security. Yet, we were literally stunned by the outpouring of support. We were able to provide food boxes 70 food boxes in May and 70 more in July!
Our program administrator, Delcio, and I made multiple trips to the local stores and market to buy the supplies for the boxes. We got a lot of laughs from the expressions on people’s faces as we pushed our overloaded carts to the registers. We hauled carload after carload after carload of purchases to store in our garage. We then worked together to box everything up. The empty boxes from the raw cashews that Sunshine Nut Co purchases were the perfect size for our needs.
Each box contained the basic food essentials for a family, such as rice, beans, porridge, oil, pasta, sugar, tea…as well as soap (thanks to SoapBox Soaps), laundry detergent, toothpaste, toothbrushes (thanks to Humble Smile), and dish soap. AND of course, every food box contained Sunshine Nut Company cashews!!!
We took the boxes to the ladies who are the mothers at our Sunshine Houses. They are the directors of our community projects. We felt they were the best people to pass out the boxes to ensure that those receiving the boxes would maintain their dignity. Our ladies called upon each family to come to collect a box and were able to also give out boxes to neighbors they knew were in need. They were able to take some photos for us so that we could see the smiles on the faces of the recipients. To say that the families who received boxes were appreciative is an understatement. These boxes literally were the difference in going hungry for these families. In America, it is hard for us to relate to living in a country where there are no support systems, food banks, or government assistance programs available.
As things get back to normal again, we see that our families have been able to adjust and move forward. Mozambicans are very resilient people. The older generations have lived through a war for independence, civil war, and extreme flooding. They daily face deadly diseases that cause the deaths of their loved ones. They live in a country where they must fight every day just to survive. We were honored and privileged to partner with our caring donors to give them assistance during a time where many would have lost their footing.
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