A gang in New Zealand has received support from locals for their acts of compassion. The Tribal Huks, a gang in the Waikato region in northern New Zealand, have been making over 500 sandwiches for hungry school children daily for the past two and a half years.
According to New Zealand news source Stuff.com, the gang has been providing hundreds of sandwiches to local school children out of their own accord. The leader of the gang, Jamie Pink, was raised in a poverty stricken home and suffered from hunger as a child. A gang fed him and looked after him and his mother during his childhood.
"I grew up a hungry little buggar and a bit angry, too," Pink told the news source. "The main reason we're doing this is because there's a lot of hungry kids out there and it means a lot to be able to fill their little bellies up," he said.
"Years ago, I used to just love violence. I loved it probably too much - still do - but this means more. This is better than violence, you know. It's a nice thing to be able to do," Pink said.
The gang has not missed a single day of sandwich making.
Support for the Tribal Huks' food program has started to grow, according to Stuff.com. Offers of supplies and funds have been given to the Tribal Huks, who have been operating the food program through their own resources.
"'I wanna say thank you so much for the support. I'm not sayin' we're angels and that, but we're not bad people. We didn't expect this," Pink said.
Some liken the Tribal Huks to modern day Robin Hoods. Though the Tribal Huks are addressing the problem of hunger in New Zealand, America is no stranger to children in hunger and organizations attempting to mitigate that hunger.
According to the United States Department of Agriculture, there are 15.8 million children under 18 in America who are in homes experiencing food insecurity, or uncertainty of having food. Programs like The National School Lunch Program have fed millions of children in poor families.
