NEWS FROM THE SHANTI FAMILY
That's the title of the report that Marianne Großpietsch sends three times each year to everyone who has ever donated to Shanti. These letters provide real insight into the difficulties Shanti must continually face as well as the joys associated with the work of the organisation.
A HEART OF BREAD
I saw how the baker made a heart out of bread – large, warm, aromatic.
And I thought, “If I had a heart of bread,
how many children would it feed?
I would gladly share with you, my hungry friends,
from my heart made of bread.”
It is not enough to say “You poor thing!”
to a child who is crying.
If my heart were made of bread,
how many children could it feed?
Those who are mighty,
what is keeping you?
Why not make bombs of bread?
Once the war is over, then every soldier
can take a basket of golden bombs home,
delicious and baked to perfection.
But that is a dream,
and my hungry friends still cry.
Oh, if only my heart were made of bread!
Anna Soldi, 11 years old from Italy. This poem was published several years ago by UNESCO.
Spring 2016
Translated article from the Newspaper WELT
April 14th, 2016, by Tobias Kaiser (with kind permission of the author)