"Peace from Food" from the tables of ARI’s graduates Vol. 2

“Peace from Food” from the tables of ARI’s graduates Vol. 2

Two Bags of Food

A big bag brimming with fresh vegetables. Another bag filled with flour, grains, salt, sugar, and spices. It’s a hefty amount, good for a week or two. Every month 35 families gather at the SEEDS India compound, not just to receive this food donation, but to greet each other and talk over tea and snacks. With all those kids laughing and playing, the atmosphere is super bustling.

SEEDS India is a local NGO started by ARI Graduate, Thomas Mathew. They have numerous programs to help folks who find themselves in difficult situations. The best thing about SEEDS, though, is not just their assistance, but the way they uplift people. Thomas Mathew treats everyone with the utmost respect, saying to them without words you may be poor, or sick, or deaf, but you are important and you are needed.

The second Saturday of each month is a national holiday, so a good time to get together. But who are these families? Where to they come from? They are the families of the children being sponsored for their education. There are 35 of them in total. Always 35. When a child reaches 18, they graduate and another is invited into the group. This program has been running for 25 years.

SEEDS doesn’t just pay the kids’ school fees and be done with it. They form a long-term relationship with the whole family, providing books, uniforms, even desks for the girls and boys to study on at home. If there is a need, they will assist with housing and toilets. And when problems arise, like illness or an accident, SEEDS helps them through. Even after graduation, SEEDS continues to check in and make sure they are doing okay. It’s not detached help, but fully involved, long-term loving care.

Thomas Mathew knows every family, and every person in that family. He can tell you names and how each member is doing. One man, for example, has a disabled son, whom he brings to this meeting whenever he can. Another is a woman who grew up in the SEEDS orphanage. She is married with three kids, but is struggling now because her husband left. Thomas Mathew is much respected for all he does for them, but he does not want any praise. The best way to show their thanks, he tells them, is to go and do the same for others. “Be better than me!”

Most of these families rise up to a “good standing” as Thomas Mathew puts it. They become self-supporting and independent. They are all from the lowest levels of society, Dalits, or untouchables, who face tremendous discrimination, but in this setting, there is no way you would know this. All are treated with dignity and acceptance.

At the conclusion of today’s gathering, each family collected their bags, one by one. Often the hands of two people were required to carry them. Though the sacks were heavy, the weight of worry about what to eat the next several days had been lifted. Everyone continued to chat and laugh all the way out to the street, where some of them went home on foot, and some shared a minicab. Later, Thomas Mathew personally delivered one of the food bundles to a blind lady who was not able to come.

Looking at this scene, as it unfolded in the twilight, it is not hard to find the peace that comes through food.