In every nation, there are starving people. Whether the hunger is for sustenance, a fair share of the pie, knowledge or respect, that which sustains us is not equally distributed or guaranteed to all.
This week I heard the story of a woman who removed an empty bowl from her bag. She tried to hide that there was no food in the bowl and pretended to eat. When the person who saw her approached her with love, she confessed that she had nothing to eat. But she was at her place of employment. This was not an unemployed woman who many would not pity because she was too lazy to work. This was not a woman who chose to beg who many would rebuke and tell to seek employment. This is a woman who sought honest employment and yet was starving in this land of plenty. But her plight is the plight of many Guyanese.
In a nation where food is abundant, no one should starve. With vast lands to cultivate and rear cattle and poultry, and great rivers to fish, how are citizens still starving? But we know the truth. Not only are some of our people pretending to eat because of poverty, but even those whose cups are filled and running over are also often eating from empty bowls. But it is nourishment like compassion, joy, virtue, love, confidence and peace for which they starve.