MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—“THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
The smell of delicious and exotic spices wafted through the air as we entered the top-floor apartment. We wandered into the kitchen and discovered three young women busy at work.
They were preparing “My Ethnic Table.”
What is “My Ethnic Table?
I had heard several of my friends talking about “My Ethnic Table—The World at Your Table.” It was intriguing. Something in me was drawn to their experience, their vision, their mission.
Their motto is “Changing Lives . . . One Bite at a Time!”
I love it!
Here’s their story:
We love to cook, but we want to do more than that.
There are 71.4 million forcibly displaced children, women and men in the world – the highest number ever recorded. That’s 1 in every 110 people alive today. Another 44,400 people are uprooted every day. This is the largest global humanitarian crisis in hundreds of years.
Our goal is to raise awareness of forcibly displaced people and to find opportunities to serve refugees where they are. We create and publish an annual benefit cooking calendar to raise awareness and funds that allow us to reach out to communities directly. As we encounter people, we focus on three areas:
ENGAGE: Often the hardest part of life for a refugee is regaining a sense of place. We engage people to help them belong in their new community.
ELEVATE: We invest in people on a personal level by spending time together and reminding them of their worth.
EMPOWER: Starting over is hard. We want to help refugees with the cultural, financial and workplace tools to succeed.
“My Ethnic Table” is all about refugees, recipes, spices, and cooking classes.
Sharing an Afghani Meal
One day, I got an invitation to come and discover “My Ethnic Table”!
After waiting in the living room and chatting with the other guests, the ethnic meal arrived on a platter—Chicken Kabuli Pulao from Afghanistan.
Yum! Yum! Yum!
Accompanied with a fresh salad of tomatoes and cucumbers, we all enjoyed this home-cooked meal. It was a traditional meal originating from Afghanistan, prepared in Spain by the loving hands of three American women.
That’s what I call “Weaving Cultures.”
After enjoying the feast, one of the women shared with us some of the statistics on the refugee crisis in Afghanistan. We talked about the devastating situation, prayed for God’s peace and help, and explored what we could do in our little part of the world to make a difference.
Several of us had personal experience working and walking alongside Afghani refugees.
My son, Timothee, was with me at the dinner. He shared with us how he had studied at his German university with a friend from Pakistan—originally a refugee from Afghanistan.
I told stories about our work among Afghani refugees in France and how they had touched our lives as much as we had touched theirs.
Another guest that night told heartbreaking stories of Afghani refugees he had encountered during his time volunteering in Greece with the “life boats.”
The crisis seems so faraway. Yet, in a sense, it is right at our doorstep.
You may be wondering what you can do to help.
Just like for the global epidemic of human trafficking and poverty, we can make a difference—right where we are.
“My Ethnic Table” is selling their annual Cooking for Refugees Calendars, and they are beautiful!
Each month represents a different country, with the nation’s statistics about the refugee crisis and a recipe for you to enjoy from that land.
Their dream is that “My Ethnic Table” groups would begin popping up all over the world—a place where people can gather together to discover a new ethnic meal. While enjoying the meal, they can raise awareness of the growing refugee epidemic around the world.
What about you? Do you want to make a difference? Remember, you don’t even have to leave the comfort of your own living room.
Yes, you can make a dent in the mountain of the world’s refugee crisis!
Here’s how—
You can buy 2020 Cooking for Refugees Calendars as Christmas gifts! That’s what I call “ethical shopping”!
You can start a “My Ethnic Table” group in your hometown. Doesn’t it sound like fun to gather some friends together, cook an exotic meal from a foreign country, enjoy it together, talk about how you can make a difference—right where you are?
What do you think? Let’s do this! Let’s Weave Cultures!
—THE CULTURAL STORY-WEAVER
MY GIFT TO YOU—GET YOUR FREE EBOOK—“THE 5-DAY JOURNEY TO CULTURAL AWARENESS”!
LET’S WEAVE CULTURES!
What about you? You can help refugees on the other side of the world by purchasing a 2020 Cooking for Refugees Calendar or by starting a “My Ethnic Table” group in your hometown. You can make a difference—right where you are!
Maybe you’re already doing something. If so, tell us about it!
We invite you to tell us your own cultural stories and global adventures . . . as you engage with the world, breaking down barriers, building bridges, and “weaving cultures”! Write about them in the comment box below.
