Lentils, spice, chicken, rice. This is the mantra four words that mean the difference between going hungry and enjoying a hot meal. For kids living in the Dominican Republic, wondering where their next meal is coming from is commonplace. But a group of Coronado residents are changing that, with a little help from an organization called Children of the Nations.
Children of the Nations (COTN), founded in 1995 in Silverdale, Washington, is a Christian charitable organization dedicated to providing care for orphaned and destitute children in the Dominican Republic, Sierra Leone, Malawi, Uganda, Haiti and the United States. Funded primarily through child sponsorships and individual donations, COTN operates homes, schools, farms, skill centers, clinics and village feeding centers. Since its inception, COTN has impacted more than 35,000 children annually through meals, education and community development.
On November 2, Coronado will host the first-ever community wide effort to benefit Children of the Nations through a meal packaging event in Spreckel’s Park. The event was organized by a group of churches and organizations in Coronado St. Paul’s United Methodist Church, Sacred Heart Catholic Church, Coronado Community Church, Rotary Club and Optimist Club who formed a task force to chair the event. The Meal Marathon, which is scheduled from 1:30 p.m. 3:30 p.m., will facilitate the preparation and delivery of 50,000 meals and 500 School Smile Packs for orphaned and destitute children in the Dominican Republic.
The community is invited and encouraged to participate in the event. During the meal packaging, various stations will be established throughout Spreckel’s Park where during an assembly-line process, participants will measure, weigh, package and vacuum seal meals that will be sent overseas to children in need.
One of the event coordinators, Nancy Mowry, explains that the Meal Marathon is a family-friendly event and provides ample opportunities for children to participate.
“This is a great opportunity for families to assist with a great charitable cause. This is something families can do together and even the kids can participate. It gives even younger children a chance to be part of the action, something that is often a limitation with other charities.”
This is the first year that the Meal Marathon has been a community-wide effort. In past years, it’s been contained to smaller groups within local churches, but has been expanded with the hopes of serving more children in the Dominican Republic. Nearly 300 volunteers are expected and fundraising is currently still taking place. According to Mowry, the cost of preparing and shipping the meals will cost roughly $14,000.
In addition to meals, the event coordinators are also gearing up to send 500 Smile Packs to support education by providing children with basic school supplies. A collection will take place between October 14-29 and on the day of the event for the following supplies:
- 5 composition notebooks
- 1 math kit (ruler, protractor, compass)
- 1 package of colored pencils
- Pencil box filled with 5 blue or black pens, 1 pencil sharpener, 3 glue sticks, 1 pink eraser, 1 pair of safety scissors and 5 pencils.
- Please pack items in a 2-gallon plastic bag and include $5 to cover shipping and program costs.
COTN Founder and International President Chris Clark, who is also the child of missionaries in Africa, will also attend the event as keynote speaker and will walk through the life of a child in the Dominican Republic and the challenges they and their families face. In rural communities, agriculture and construction are the primary means to make a living, but many families have minimal farming equipment and earn very little from what they harvest. In cities, many families face unemployment. Those living in the Dominican Republic are denied education, medical care and families are living without electricity or running water and very little food or clothing. Children of the Nations seeks to end that cycle of poverty by focusing on their most urgent needs education and nutrition.
Says Mowry, “Children of the Nations has a unique mission in that its aim is to raise children to transform their own nation. They see to the care of the whole child: from food, to education, to social, to spiritual needs. They don’t want to offer a hand out, but a hand up. They offer many options for individuals to get involved from food packing events, to child sponsorships, to Venture Team Outreach and Village Partnerships.”
Event Information:
November 2, 2014 1:30 – 3:30 p.m.
Spreckels Park
For more information or to register your group, contact Amber Kaiser at [email protected] or call (619) 806-8499.
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Mary Douglas
Staff Writer
eCoronado.com
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