Easter at the Community Market

It was a joy to celebrate Easter with the families who attend the Community Market in Aguazinha. It was made extra special by a wonderful and generous donation from an Aguazinha local who has heard about the market from one of our fantastic volunteers who is a neighbour with her. She offered twenty Easter kits comprised of fish, rice and coconut milk; the key ingredients to a traditional dish here eaten at this time of year. We also had a wonderful selection of food to go alongside these kits, including plenty of fruit and a donation of bread from a bakery.

Community Market Easter kit comprising of fish, rice and coconut milk
Fish, rice and coconut milk kindly donated as Easter kits for the families of the Community Market

We’re so grateful for the bakery donation which is regular and provides a great staple to the families. The supermarket however has been less reliable in the last few months, making it a lot less predictable how much food we’ll have available to distribute. Our friends and colleagues Daniel and Enoque do the tiring job of collecting food each Friday from a food distribution centre in Recife. On alternate weeks Enoque collects dry goods whereas Daniel collects fresh fruit and veg. Both are vital not just to the Community Market but also to the Revive homes, however we will be approaching more supermarkets within the closer region of Olinda to establish a more local network where businesses give back to their community through supporting the market with their surplus food.

Fresh food ready to be selected

As the market reaches being one year old we are doing a reassessment of each family to see whose situations have changed, and if their place can be given to other families on the waiting list who we’ll also be assessing. The focus of Revive is always on the family unit and the safety and wellbeing of the children, so this forms the basis for any decisions we make about those that attend the market.

We wouldn’t be able to run the market without the amazing team of volunteers we have dedicated to helping out each week and serving their community in this way. They usually get to take some of the food that is left over as a little perk for helping out, however we gifted them with an easter egg to show our gratitude for all the work they do. It’s a lot of work getting the market ready, particularly in the hot and humid climate here, but they never complain and just get on with it. Organising the food; sorting the good from the bad, can be a messy job yet they always get stuck in. So a huge thank you must go out to them!

Washing and sorting grapes
The Market volunteers with their easter eggs

Please pray for these reassessments and for the food supply. Please pray too for the community of Aguazinha where the market is held. There has been a lot of violence recently with many gang-related murders which makes it a far less safe place to be. Pray that God’s peace would reign there.

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