Bread.

As I was buying bread this week from the supermarket I just couldn't believe the price per loaf. It's challenging when the staple items such as bread climb in price. But the incredible thing for me is that I will never have to go without bread, because I always have enough money for it. Even when bread becomes more expensive.

A significant moment that was seared into my memory while in East Africa, was when a small local boy, who we saw regularly, asked us in his simple English, 'You buy me bread?'. To begin with I was confused, and clarified 'Bread? But I do not have any bread' and then it struck me, the enormous daily reality of grinding poverty and the many mouths to feed in his family. For a child to ask for bread, not soda or sweets, was something I had never faced before. My heart just broke. To give him bread would be a very temporary solution to much greater problem. I did not buy him bread, but chose to share my food with him, and his sister and two brothers each day as they hung around where we were volunteering.

I am thinking of bread this week after reading an article on Living Proof, which is part of the One Campaign. Living Proof is described as 'a showcase of stories that are too often ignored - the incredible progress being achieved by some of the world's poorest people.' And the first story I read was about bread, and about how it is being produced with added micronutrients in Egypt to combat widespread poor nutrition. Such a simple way to improve health, one piece of bread at a time!


So, as I think about the price of bread, of my dear little friend in Kenya, and this story of life-changing bread in Egypt I am humbled and filled with hope. Thankful that stories are told which remind me of how lives can be changed, in simple and practical ways! I encourage you to check out more of Living Proof and remember how blessed you are, and how you can be a blessing to others.