Operation Bread

In the spring of 2017, I traveled to Bamako, the capitol of Mali, Africa with my grandson, Calvert, to visit his dad and my son, Lt. Col. Paul Cazier. Paul was stationed in the US Embassy as the military attaché and was the highest-ranking US military officer in Mali. 


Mali is a land-locked country in west Africa with a population of 19 million people and is one of the poorest countries in the world. Nearly 50% of the population lives on less than US $1.90 per day or an average annual income of approximately US $840.


Calvert and I really looked forward to this trip. Paul had told us so much about Mali and its people, and we were anxious to learn more about this culture. Another reason we were excited was because whenever the three of us go on an adventure, we can always count on having a fun, exciting, and crazy time. We never know what is coming next, and our attitude towards planning is simple, we always fly by the seat of our pants.


We had approximately two weeks together and decided to do something a little different. Paul worked during the day so we could only spend evenings and weekends with him, but it was enough time to be meaningful and productive. Instead of seeking out typical vacation activities, we devised a plan we called “Operation Bread.” Each evening of the Operation we purchased 6,000 CFA (approximately US $10) worth of bread to share with some of the less fortunate people of Bamako.


The first night we purchased twenty loaves of French style bread (approximately 3 feet long), five loaves of what we referred to as a soup bowl loaf, and one loaf of shortbread cake. We spent an hour or so driving around Bamako sharing this bounty with women who had small children, pregnant women, little children who were begging, and handicapped people.


While on our adventure one evening we saw five young boys and we stopped the car to give them a loaf of bread. As we turned to leave, we were upset to see the biggest boy take the loaf from the boy we had given it too. We watched for a few moments, thinking he was stealing it for himself, but we were wrong. He took the loaf and carefully divided it into pieces, giving a piece to each boy. All of the boys waited patiently until each one had a piece. When the biggest boy was done, he looked around, then took the bread he had given to one of the smaller boys, measured it against the one he had kept for himself, broke off some of his own piece and gave it, along with the original piece, back to the smaller boy. Wow! We were humbled by the beautiful lesson in kindness and caring taught to us with simple power by hungry boys. 


On the last night of our adventure, we went out one more time, purchased the same amount of bread and started driving once again through the streets of Mali. It was a warm night, having cooled off to about 90 degrees F. We had distributed all but three of our loaves and our throats were parched. We stopped and bought a liter of fruit juice for each of us to quench our thirst. I had finished about one-third of mine before we stopped again to offer a loaf of bread to two young girls (about 10 or 11 years old). They were excited with the gift but then asked us for a drink. 


My son, always known for his quick action, reached over and took my drink out of my hand and kindly gave it to the girls. Their smiles grew bigger and their eyes brighter as they thankfully took the juice. Seeing this was well worth the price of losing my drink.


With just two loaves left, we were coming to the end of Operation Bread. We gave one loaf to a woman who appeared to have a severe mental health condition and the last to a man confined to a wheelchair. My grandson got out of the car, walked over to give him the bread, and stayed to chat for another ten minutes or so. The man seemed hungry for connection as well as the bread, so Calvert spent time talking with him and creating a small bond. 


What an amazing experience we had sharing some of our bounty with those less fortunate than us! Just recalling this experience now brings back a smile to my face as I remember the warmth that we felt interacting and sharing the simple pleasures of life. 


Taking time to do something nice for others, whether it’s sharing bread or smiles, is an excellent way to help our children learn that being generous with our bounties and our time will reap rewards of happiness and tender mercies.



Happy Failing Forward,


Calvert Cazier



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