We arrived before the market was fully awake, with pots, serving spoons, and the particular nervousness of people who are not sure they have brought enough.
By seven, the queue had formed. By nine, it was gone. The morning was less about the food than about how quickly a queue becomes a conversation.
More than food
Someone asked whether we were coming back next month. Someone else asked for a phone number because a relative needed help with a hospital bill we could not cover.
We do not have an answer for every request. Pretending otherwise would be dishonest. What we can do is write it down, follow up where we can, and come back.
What we got wrong
We brought too much rice and not enough water. We ran out of cups before we ran out of food. Two volunteers spent most of the morning managing a queue instead of talking to anyone.
Next time we will bring less of what we assumed and more of what people asked for.
Come next time
Outreach days are volunteer-led and open to anyone willing to work. Register on our events page and we will send the meeting point and what to bring.
