Days 12-14: How 42 Meals Became 19,000 in 14 Days

One of the common contentions I've received from my blog readers is kind of the "Yeah, but can't you buy a lot more food in those parts of the world with $1?" I honestly don't think so.

So I once asked my Manila program co-director to see what she could buy in the market for $0.33 (what I have to work with for one meal) which is about 17 Philippine Pesos. She said it could buy either two eggs, or a bowl of noodles, or three small bread rolls; comparable, or worse, than what I'm getting. So maybe for $0.33 you could buy ingredients for a humble egg drop noodle soup, but I don't think it would have the diversity of ingredients that my soups have had.

In India, $0.33 is about 20 Rupees. In the developing world, the poor do not have the luxury of coming across 30 day's wages in one lump, so most buy ingredients on a per-day or per-meal basis.

So my friend Hudson in India took 20 Rupees down to the market and was able to buy some wheat and two eggs for 19 Rupees, then used some existing stock of oil and seasonings to prepare a small meal of chapati bread and scrambled egg masala as seen in the photo below. So again, as in Manila, we are seeing "purchasing power parity" about at equilibrium in terms of these common food commodities.

The meal my friend Hudson was able to make in India from ingredients he bought in the market with his 20 rupees ($0.33)

So far, from my experiences traveling abroad, and in these two case study examples we've now looked at, it does not appear that $1 buys you any more or less in these countries, in terms of basic foods.

This effectively proves that there is "purchasing power parity" on basic food staples in at least these two locations we polled.

So the overall point is that your $1 donation, especially when coupled with produce from our farmlands, is more than enough to provide three meals for a hungry child in need. Three meals. To children like this girl at our girls home rescued from "bonded servitude" (labor trafficking, or modern day slavery) in India... 

One of the most frequent comments about the meals I cook during the challenge is, "Wow that actually looks pretty good, I'd eat that!" And this is my favorite entry to discussion about the challenge. That is exactly my strongest point.

Imagine if I were to supplement my ingredients list with fresh vegetables from a farmland or gardening project? Bingo. That is the work of Peace Gospel and She Has Hope right there. We are multiplying your generosity, no matter how small your contribution may feel to you. 

So, literally, a $30/mo recurring donation will put a delicious fresh-cooked meal on one child's plate, three times a day, seven days a week, 365 days a year. By buying basic inexpensive staples such as rice, beans, and potatoes, then combining them with fresh produce from our farms and gardens, we can work miracles with your humble, consistent contribution, no matter how small. 

We are now at 17 "monthly hearts" sponsored since I launched this challenge! The value of these sponsorships is $530/mo, or annualized at $6,360/year. When these funds are combined with the virtually "free" ingredients from our farmlands and gardening projects, these 17 newly filled hearts represent over 19,000 meals we'll be able to serve to children in need over the next year. So, this is definitely something that's keeping me going! Because of your generosity, my 42 meals have been multiplied into over 19,000!

Ready to join in being a part of these miracles? Here's how:

Just tap on this chart and then on the next page choose the amount of the heart you want to sponsor, choose the day of the month you want your donation to be charged each month, enter your details, and you're done!

Then on my next blog post I will fill in your heart to represent the progress we're making!

I'm dedicating these days of my challenge to these sweet souls (the first child is my sweet friend Bina, I've gotten to know her and her mother from my visits) of the Thapathali slum colony of Kathmandu, Nepal. 

She prepares potatoes masala for her family inside her single-room shanty home which serves as bedroom, living room, bathing corner, and kitchen all in one.

I was able to deliver this portrait I shot of her and her mother on a previous visit. She holds one of the books from her school curriculum. Thankfully we were able to cover her school supplies needs for that school year. Her family could not otherwise afford to keep her enrolled in school without our support. 

Another view of a typical home in the colony. 

A bit of catching up to do to show you the past 9 meals I've been able to create from $3 worth (3 days' worth) of my limited ingredients. It's not luxurious, but it's working! A big thanks to my faithful girlfriend for doing this challenge with me on her own (unpublished) $30 worth of ingredients. Having someone to do this with is making a world of difference compared to my previous 5 challenges. So grateful for many of her cooking ideas as represented in the below photos (they're the appetizing-looking ones). ;-)

Take Action!

1) Please consider helping me reach my goal to find 50 new "Sustainers"— donors willing to give a small amount each month toward our work helping vulnerable children and trafficking survivors. Go here and enter the amount you would like to give monthly!

2) Please visit my unofficial sponsor, Amazon.com through this link. 7% of your purchases made through the link are given to the work of Peace Gospel's programs helping orphans, at-risk children of the slums, and human trafficking survivors.

3) If you're compelled by my effort here, please share it with friends. One of the main goals is awareness. So if you can help with that, huge.

4) Leave me feedback. Please comment on this post, especially if you have any ideas about what I should try to cook with these ingredients I have available. I love hearing from you! It really helps!