During the last couple days, I’ve shared stories of our healthy eating and nutrition classes in Islamabad. While we totally understand the importance of integrating nutritious meals in our daily lives, we thought it would be fun to also spark a bit of joy, asking children to share their favorite meal with us – and then making it happen! Children usually don’t eat lunch at the informal schools right now, so this was a special treat.
When we asked them what their favorite foods were, biryani came out as a solid winner, with chicken sandwiches as a close second. But to tell you the truth, I’m not surprised. I have yet to meet a person from South Asia that doesn’t love biryani, my own family included!
Biryani is a traditional spiced rice dish made with a type of meat and sometimes vegetables, many times eaten on special occasions. Just thinking about it makes me hungry!
So biryani it was!
We had a local small business owner, known for her scrumptious food across town, make little lunchboxes of biryani and other snacks like yogurt, bananas, and a vitamin filled chocolate milk drink called Milo. All of us sat on the floor and ate together, simply devouring our lunches.
It was such a welcome treat and the kids absolutely loved the colorful, reusable lunchboxes (which they got to keep!).
The best part for me was sitting alongside the kids and eating with them. Seeing their happiness made my week and left me wishing I could do this every day!
Aisha, a girl in the class, seemed to share my sentiments. She looked at me and asked “can we do this again tomorrow?”
It was clear that she was referring to us sitting together over a meal, rather than the meal itself. And that was the most beautiful part – sometimes it’s the smallest connections that spark the most joy.
Meet Shamaila!
Shamaila is part of the Global Connections team based out of Minneapolis. She supports partnerships and fundraising for Alight’s initiatives with the diaspora, LGBTIQ+ refugees, Rohingya women, and beyond! She is deeply passionate about supporting the most marginalized communities worldwide – those living in the shadows — to reclaim their voice and has found Changemakers 365 a powerful tool to support this.
