All People Are People

Yesterday evening I volunteered at a kitchen which provided dinner for the homeless. Under direction of the chef I buttered bread, chopped rockmelons and strained vegetables. We then served a meal of rice, mince meat and potato stew, mixed vegetables and bread, accompanied with a dessert of banana bread, fruits and custard.

We sat down to have dinner together. Honestly I was shy at first because well, I generally can be in an unfamiliar environment. But the guys my friend and I sat with were pretty chatty. It was interesting to hear what they had to say and I would call it a cultural exchange of sorts.

There's not much I can share as some of what they shared was quite personal, but here is a mish mash of some thoughts:

• We all have different circumstances, many of which we cannot control.
• It's tough when you have a bad record that stays in the system and doesn't get erased. It's necessary for people who never truly want to turn from evil ways - and we have to keep those people away from society as they are incredibly harmful. But what about people who truly "mature" and have decided to get better?
• Family support is so incredibly important.
• Homelessness can be quite a cycle. It makes it hard to get a job to get out of your poverty.
• Some people become homeless because of others. A friend was telling me of a pub manager (ie doing well for herself) whose parents were very ill before passing away, leaving her with great debt which eventually bankrupted her and left her homeless.
• All people are people. We are all the same.

On another note, thank you L for inviting me to volunteer and sharing your thoughts and works about justice. And thanks for the fair trade chocolate – 'twas yummy!