Wednesday, March 30, 2011

Can I live without chocolate and coconut?

Today I took Lissette shopping for her birthday party coming up. We bought balloons and paper plates, baby blue and red sprinkles, streamers and plastic-ware. As we were driving home we sipped on our vitamin waters...they cost about $1.15 each. I began thinking what a luxury item a vitamin water would be in Africa where they can barely find a clean glass of drinking water in some places and where $1 could be a whole day's wages. We've decided that it might be a fun endeavor to eat rice and beans one day per week and send the savings, which might be about $6.00 that night for a family of eight (including our two foster kids), to an organization like Blood Water Mission. Blood Water Mission is an organization dedicated to the fight against HIV/AIDS and the water crisis in Africa, and in the name of Jesus. So, now about chocolate and coconut. Should I indulge in things I know are imported luxuries from poverty stricken nations? I am determined not to. Fair-trade is good...especially when you can really verify that something is fair-trade, which I haven't found to be an easy task, but then I'm spending five bucks on a candy bar! Really? Is it worth it? I have to say, no. It's amazing how difficult it is to live without my usual indulgences, but if I am tempted, I can put that five bucks in my Blood Water jar and think how it is some kid's week's wages and feel better and a bit stupid at the same time. I am realizing the depth of my depravity the deeper we go into this project. So, so long brownies, mocha lattes, coconut butter and chocolate covered coffee beans. I'll miss you, but not that much.

1 comment:

  1. I've also heard that "fair trade" is a nice catch-all kind of term that is hard to enforce. Too bad. It lulls us into a false sense of action.

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