Medina International Foundation    

Thanksgiving Dinner 2009

We have been blessed to be a blessing to God's people!

    Holidays like Thanksgiving bring more focus to the breach between the rich and the poor. For many, Thanksgiving is just another day of hardship, another without food or shelter. For many Americans, the delicious taste of a turkey dinner is very affordable. But for the less fortunates, a Thanksgiving Dinner would not be possible without initiatives and volunteers. Furthermore, helping feed the homeless on Thanksgiving ensures that the spirit and tradition of the holiday are shared with the less priviledged.

      This year Medina International pledged to make an impact on Thanksgiving Day by feeding as many people as possible. However, it was not only about offering a festive meal and catering, it was about hearing the stories of those people and how they became homeless. From what we discovered, those saddening stories can happen to anyone. Thus, we should not look down on them, nor judge but help and support in this critical period of their life.

Mission Accomplished! 

     The Thanksgiving dinner sponsored by Medina International Foundation was a total success. The implementation of our organization's charitable agenda was accomplished. We mainly relied on our members to provide food, beverage, clothing and other forms of support to the residing families of the New Broadway Family Residence. However, we recieved some finacial support from other people living in the U.S and Canada as well. We cannot thank them enough.

       Our team received a warm welcome from the shelter's staff and tenants which created a relaxing and comforting atmosphere for us. We were blessed to celebrate this beautiful American tradition in their company.
 

      After the meal, we took the time to talk to each member personally in order to understand the challenges they are facing. The members of Medina International visited the rooms of the residents conducting indivual interviews. It is one thing to serve meals  and another to care about others. Quite frankly, it is one thing to read about homeless, its causes and consequences but experiencing it gives a deeper insight on the issue.

What we found out!

    First of all, homeless happens to individuals as well as families. We spoke to the families which were affected by the economic crisis and could not afford housing expenses. 

Most shockingly, there was a lot of single mothers with children who live in the Residence due to domestic violences. In most cases, their ex-mates are in jail but in instances the mothers were put to the streets.

The lack of a supportive network of friends and family was shown to be a predominant theme within the lives of the people we interviewed. Homelessness became the only option. We are very concerned about these single mothers and their children and are currently developing programs that will target them.

Reaching out to Different Communities

       All world religions promote peace, no matter what is portreyed. Our Thanksgiving event was the occasion to see Muslims and Christians who have the same roots (Africa) discuss current issues. We donated food and beverages to the St Mary's Church located at 521 W 126th St in Harlem, New York.

    Per our conversation with the Church members, we realized that African Americans want to visit Africa, their motherland. They were very pleased to discuss with us the future possibilities of that trip.

At Medina International, we promote Union, Peace, Solidarity, Mutual Aid, Love, and Compassion toward all people without distinction of race, religion, ethnicity, gender...