Inspired by the book A Place at the Table, I’ve decided to take on a similar diet as my sponsored child as a challenge to myself and as a way of getting a glimpse into what life is like for little Kobby from Ghana.
I went to do my first shop today. It was funny because I had been thinking about the challenge all evening, and this morning when I woke up and thought about going shopping to get my first load of chicken, rice and beans I kind of thought that this would be easier than I had been planning. After all, it wasn’t like I couldn’t eat food at all, but I just had to take on a similar diet to my sponsored child.
The first real challenge wasn’t as I had expected. It wasn’t that I was so hungry, it was the challenge of temptation in my local supermarket. As I walked in with my trolley and my ‘this is going to be a doddle’ mindset, I caught a glimpse of the muffins on the stand at the front of the shop. And (I am not joking) I walked up to them thinking, “I am kinda hungry, and there are four here, so I could keep them in my car for a little snack.” I actually laughed out loud at my weak flesh and reminded myself of the challenge. Right, no chocolate for a while, just get your mind over it and you can cope!
And then I found myself in the Christmas aisle (it was October) and while I’d already overcome my temptation for chocolate it hit me how readily available things that would be considered luxuries in the developing world are for us. Then I caught sight of the clothing department upstairs and recalled all the times I’d convinced myself I need a new vest top/socks/flip flops/trousers, just because I saw them and they were cheap.
Anyway, I carried on through the shop and started to look at things in a way I hadn’t really noticed or cared about before; there were rows of vegetables and fruit that weren’t even cultivated in this country, but because we wanted it, and more importantly could pay for it, here it was stacked in our shops at our fingertips.
Another thing I noticed was the variety of the products; did I want basics chicken or organic chicken or corn fed chicken or garlic seasoned chicken? Did I want breast or thigh? Leg or wing? Chopped up, fillets or drumsticks? I’ve taken all of this for granted and I haven’t had any reason to give it any real thought up until now.
I started to think about my sponsored child, Kobby. He’s 11 and lives in Kasoa in Ghana. He lives with his grandmother who is only employed when she can find work. He would never find himself in my current situation, choosing which chicken to buy. I guess he would just get what he was given, and enjoy it. I had barely started my fast and already I was beginning to see food in a completely different light.
Have you given anything up for Lent? Has it taught you anything yet? How do you deal with temptation when it comes?
Compassion are giving away three copies of A Place At The Table. Enter the competition.
Tags: a place at the table, child poverty, child sponsorship, chocolate, compassion, fast, greed, lent, temptation
