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Growing up in a poor home in New York, has helped me to be who I am today. My parents never had money and always relied on government help and assistance because no matter how hard my parents worked, it was never enough. I recall going from one assembly line to another line along with my trail of siblings, 8 in total, led by my mother who was signing up for whatever assistance the government was giving, food stamps or Medicaid.
I was born in Puerto Rico and as a child moved with my family to the great city of New York. Even though my parents had nothing to give me, in reality they gave me everything.
I do not recall being hungry, but I am sure my parents spent many nights hungry or sleepless, caring for us. Some of my fondest memories as a young child were the soup kitchens of New York City where this nourishing food was an important staple for those who would go hungry with out it.
As a teenager I observed my friends getting into all kind of trouble and some how, some way, I knew it was not my destiny. |
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In fact, I always found myself helping most of them get out of trouble. Even as a young boy I knew that my calling was to spend part of my life helping people. My love and passion to help others has grown to be a way of life.
My years of assisting other organizations to build schools and orphanages in countries such as Haiti, Peru and Brazil has prepared me to build alliances with various International organizations, while my work here in the United States, visiting jails and juvenile detentions has enabled me to bring a message of hope to those who have no hope.
These days hard work has given me a beautiful life. Having all I needed to be happy, I asked my self what now? There is something about the following words that I just love, "Everything that lives, lives not alone, not for it self" William Blake.
In the summer of 2004, I traveled to Medellin, Colombia and while enjoying my lunch that was perfectly prepared just for me, I observed a young girl playing outside by herself. Up to this day I still remember clearly her missing teeth, dirty clothes and sticky hair. I asked the woman who cared for the home, about the young girl and she began to tell me the child did not attend school because of a lack of books and uniform. My thoughts led me to ask, "how much will it be for her books and uniform"? Then the woman replies "$12 us dollars". "Wow" my heart dropped, then I approached the young girl and at that moment my life was changed forever. After looking in her big round eyes I began to see the depth of poverty and I was taken back to myself as a child and realized that my life is not my own but a gift to the world.
My quest to "change the world" led me to many ideas. After coming up with a plan that will provide books and uniforms for young people world wide, I then realized, if they do not have books and uniforms they probably do not have the most basic need…food, and who can even think straight on a empty stomach?. With a new passion bursting inside of me I then realized kids will start to find me no matter where I went. Thinking back it's interesting they never asked me for books or clothes they always asked me for food.
I could be sitting inside a restaurant and they will pass by everyone and come directly to my window or I could be walking among crowds of thousands and guess what? They will find me. Thinking back it's ironic that even as a young child I loved the kitchen and dreamed of being a chef.
Finally, in the year of 2007, during a conversation with my good friend Mark Marshall, the name "The World's Kitchen" came to me, it was like a revelation that hit me and reminded me of my favorite story of all times from the book of Geneses Chapter 41. "And Pharaoh said to Joseph, you shall be over my house and Joseph gathered very much grain, as the sand of the sea, until he stopped counting, for it was immeasurable".
I know the vision is big! But God is big! life is big!, and people have big hearts. There is more than enough food to feed over 7 billion people, so the question is, why are there over 1.2 billion people still starving and dying? I asked myself, and this is how my vision of The World's kitchen became a reality.
The World's Kitchen wants to intervene by bringing nourishment and a message of hope to a child or teenager in need, one neighborhood at a time, by providing the tools that will help to combat world hunger giving our young people worldwide a fighting chance. |
