The reason the poor need help is that they are not productive enough to earn sufficient to sustain themselves.

20 December 2007

I put up today's title to make something VERY clear. I have said already several times on this site that Project Palhaco does NOT create dependency. There is a page where you can generously donate a food package, but understand what this is about.

These people have little education, fewer skills, no dreams to mention - and a houseful of kids. They simply, at the moment, cannot step out of the rut. Food parcels help more than you can imagine, while we put things in place for them to increase their income and improve their situations.

This is where our problem solving has to go... get them up and functioning, not scrabbling around for food. God that costs me so much time and energy at the moment - why on earth did I open my mouth and promise Xmas? AAAHH!!!

As for if it is even worth the effort...

Ask me tomorrow, today I'm scared of my answer.

And now for something totally unconnected... kinda. About a month after I took Daniel off the street - well, to see the TRUTH in that situation, go read Blog 23 December - I was cleaning his room when I really extended myself and also cleaned under his bed. What a shock. I stumbled upon a HUGE stockpile of food. Every day he had been squirreling food there... in case one day he woke up and the fridge was empty. It took literally months for him to feel secure enough to stop hiding food against future hunger. Karen in her email - Blog 17 December - had a similar awakening.

As for this damn BBQ - sheeesh. What drives me on is this - we are NOT "doing something nice for poor people"!

It runs much deeper than this.

It's one important step to help me change their lives over the next year.

It's concrete, measurable, deadlined. If a project is going to be successful, it needs to be these things. Not "I'm gonna be nice and help the poor" but "I'm going to reduce the cavities in this community by 80%" or "We will plant 200 trees in the next two months". It's quantitative, concrete, measurable, observable: and do-able. Although it doesn't have to be do-able, remember. If all these meditation and manifestation gurus are correct, ask for MUCH more than you can manage yourself... and let the good ole Universe dump it in your lap.

Well, I am meditating and dreaming and holding-it-in-the-forefront-of-my-mind and focussing and believing and trusting...

As for measurable and deadlined: four days to the BBQ. So far we have raised $4.00

Operator... what's the number for 911?

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