second harvest japan

on friday we met with the founder of Second Harvest Japan. he's hooked us up with some amazing contacts and invited us to the saturday homeless feed at ueno park here in tokyo. every saturday they go and feed hundreds of homeless people, majority being older men.

here in japan, the homeless are treated similarly (as we were told) to when the US and Canada first was learning about AIDS/HIV. they are not looked upon in a very good way and even some of the volunteers that help out barely say more than hello. there is a strict no photography policy with SH to save the people from further humiliation so we weren't able to get any photos while we were talking with them.

on saturday, we divided into two teams and with an interpreter, were able to have some great conversations with the men. there was one woman that we saw, but she did not want to talk with us. it was a great time knowing that just talking with them and wanting to hear their stories, we were telling them that they were worth talking to. another example of how society - in any country - will just walk on in their lives. not taking the time to learn one's situation or even why they are where they're at. 

how often do we judge someone based on their physical circumstance? how often have we walked by someone sitting on the street and just assumed their life story? take a moment to learn the reality of someone's situation. it may actually change your life!