Walking the streets remains the best way to help the people in real need. Visiting families in their homes and walking through the neighborhood brings us to many people with needs. Often a neighbor will tell us about a child two doors down that needs surgery or an elderly couple in need of food. We witness the need, verify the situation with neighbors and know that when we help we are good stewards of donations.
Seldom to people ask for our help. In fact, it sometimes takes several visits before we can discuss ideas for improving a situation. Sometimes it takes several visits to gently ask about needs. For example, we helped a family with the cost of transportation to Monterrey (a 5-hour bus ride) so that their child can receive chemotherapy for many weeks. We were finally told that the doctor scolded the family because their son was not eating enough nutritious meals and this caused him to become very, very ill after the chemotherapy. The parents simply nodded and kept their heads down as the doctor told them to feed their child better food. What the doctor fails to see is their home, their budget and their inability to provide better meals.
After bottled water, city water, electricity and local transportation is paid the family had $6.00 to spend for the week's groceries. Six dollars to feed a family of four for an entire week. On weeks when the father misses work to take his child to the hospital in Monterrey the family has $4 for the week's groceries.
Obviously we cannot simply buy vegetables and meat for the one child that receives chemotherapy. We must supplement the diet for the other child, also. So helping a child to fight cancer involves bus tickets and groceries. We would never know this except for the regular home visits and building a friendship that allowed the parents to tell us that they were 'bad parents' because they cannot even provide good meals for their children. They were so very ashamed an we did all we could to tell them that they were good parents who did everything possible for their children.
Walking the streets and simply being friends is probably the best thing that we do.
