Lily’s social awareness was sparked at an early age. She showed maturity, compassion and gratitude at 10-years-old. After learning about Africa and hearing about the starving African children from a classmate, she wanted to help. For her 11th birthday, instead of presents, she asked her friends to donate money to help build a water pipe for a Tanzanian school.

“The idea of getting 25 more puzzles didn’t seem as enchanting as the idea of being able to give kids water,” Lily said. She and her friends raised nearly $2,000 ⁠— more than Lily had ever imagined.

When she was 12 she hit another milestone ⁠— Lily’s first visit to Tanzania with African Immigrants Social & Cultural Services. She was struck by the beauty of the country ⁠— but even more so ⁠— the inner beauty of the people.

“Being really immersed in the culture and seeing the people, I guess it made me want to help even more, just because I felt really connected to them and I felt they gave so much to me and were so welcoming to me even though they had so much less than me.”

She noticed the stark difference between what she and her friends had in America and was moved that the kids she visited didn’t even have the basics: proper shelter, education or health care. What struck her most ⁠— the lack of food ⁠— was a devastating part of their existence Lily witnessed first-hand at the hospital. “Malnutrition is just part of existence there almost. The bloated bellies, they’re all very small for their age,” she said.

Lily learned that bread is imported to villages from big cities several hours away, but it’s often rotten by the time it arrives.

She knew she had to do something.

She came up with an idea that would save lives. When she returned home to California, she poured her heart ⁠— and her time ⁠— into fundraising and learning how to build a brick oven to empower the villagers to make their own bread and self sustain.

Last summer, Lily, her family and her friends built a rainwater harvest system to make clean water for the orphans. This summer, she plans to teach the villagers how to make their own smaller adobe ovens and a community garden.

“I’m so lucky I found it when I was young, but I feel like if anyone got the joy that I received from just being with these people, working together to do what we could, then there’s no way they would’ve turned down the opportunity,” she said.

Simple things many of us take for granted, like cooking dinner and breaking bread with our crew was an experience she knows many people, like her new friends in Tanzania, don’t have.

Special thanks to Jessica Chang for reporting this GIG story. Chang is is a former TV reporter who is developing her own travel/volunteer project: Volunteer Ventures.

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In a world and society where we’re taught, “If it’s too good to be true, it’s NOT,” it’s hard to believe.

In this case, you have to feel it, experience it — to believe it.

Every Sunday at Taste of the Himalayas restaurant in Berkeley, Calif., Karma Kitchen is cooking up kindness and generosity across the San Francisco Bay Area. It’s a volunteer-run experiment in generosity that is growing.

On your zero-dollar and zero-cent bill, there is a kind note that reads, “Your meal was a gift from someone who came before you. To keep the chain of gifts alive, we invite you to pay it forward for those who dine after you.” Patrons can choose to pay nothing or pay for only what they feel is right.

The recipe for this generous idea began three years ago, with Viral and Pavi Mehta and a group of friends. “It’s an excuse to start a conversation about generosity,” Viral said, with a kind, genuine and humble voice. Included in the morning’s training session are lots of hugs as approximately a dozen volunteers gather in a circle; a moment of silence, introductions and stories of why all the volunteers are spending a Sunday morning, volunteering to greet, cook and serve complete strangers.

One volunteer tells me her impetus to give back started one morning when she was rushing out the door to a final exam and her car wouldn’t start. A neighbor saw her in distress and offered to give her a ride. Moved by the small act of kindness, she was inspired to pay it forward. When a friend told her about Karma Kitchen, she jumped at the opportunity. “The volunteers are here to serve, there’s no ulterior motive, no paycheck, they want to give back,” Pavi said with passion.

This project is just one of several experiments under the umbrella of Charity Focus, an “incubator of gift economy projects that inspires people to be the change they wish to see,” according to founder Nipun Mehta. “A gift economy is an economic system in which goods and services are given freely, rather than traded. In a market economy, one’s wealth is increased by ‘saving.’ In contrast, in a gift economy, wealth is decreased by hoarding, for it is the circulation of the gifts within the community that leads to increase: increase in connections, increase in relationship strength.”

It is hard to put into words the magic, songs and stories of giving shared — that unfold and swirl under the roof of this bustling restaurant when Karma Kitchen is underway. It’s infectious. You want to give back, unconditionally.

Come as a volunteer customer and feel for yourself. The smell, the stories and the kindness swirling around will make you hungry to help others and give back. Here’s a tip from a soon-to-be-repeat customer:

1. Volunteers, sign up online early as there is a waiting list to serve
2. Eat at a community table and meet new friends
3. Visit and receive gifts from the Kindness Table
4. Say thank you
5. Pay it forward
6. Be ready to be inspired to be a chain in the circle of giving
7. Enjoy!

The generosity is spreading: Karma Kitchens are now also open in Chicago and Washington, D.C.

Buon Appetito & Cheers!

The post Recipe For Success: Karma Kitchen Serves Up Generosity appeared first on Go Inspire Go.