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Acts of Compassion

By Rodney Bullard
CEO The Same House PBC | Former Senior Executive at Chick-fil-A / Global CSR, ESG and Marketing Leader | Best-Selling Author | Former AUSA | Former Air Force JAG l Corporate and Non-profit Board Director

“Let us not love with words or speech but with actions and in truth.” – 1 John 3:18

Compassion is an underused leadership quality. To be a good leader, you must have empathy or compassion for the people following you, the people you want to follow. And when you show Compassion, people are more likely to follow you and listen. There’s a great saying; I know you’ve heard that people don’t care what you think until they know how much you care. Compassion is often described as the cornerstone of human morality. That’s because it is the quality that allows us to put ourselves in another person’s shoes and understand their pain. It motivates us to help others in need and make sacrifices for the greater good. While Compassion is a natural human emotion, it is also something that can be cultivated. By creating an effort to understand the suffering of others and to respond with kindness, we can make the world a little bit brighter for everyone.

In many local bakeries in Turkey, it is not uncommon to see the owner hand someone bread without exchanging money. This ancient tradition called “askida ekmek” of paying it forward starts with customers who pay for two loaves of bread but leave one behind on the hook for someone in need. This bread on a hanger is available to anyone who walks in and says, “Askıda ekmek var mi?” (“Is their bread on the hook?”) that can be requested for no cost.

This tradition is based on the Muslim pillar of faith focused on charity. In Turkey, bread is considered a blessing sent from God that sustains life. It is the solution to starvation and is considered sacred food consumed at every meal. It is never thrown away or put to waste.

In 2012, Oğuzhan Canım figured out a way to use technology to scale this custom to reach more bakeries and help more people. He created a social media platform called Askidanevar to connect college students with limited funds to restaurants offering free food. His company motto is based on a quote from Samuel Smiles “The most beautiful act in the world, which comes after the act of love, is to help.” He believes that by targeting students, he will create a culture of sharing as they graduate and pay it forward within Turkish society.

Like the traditional act of askida ekmek, everything is done anonymously. Students only use their real identities when signing up for an account. Once they are part of the program, they can claim a free meal from various participating restaurants. So far, over half a million students from three of Turkey’s most significant cities have benefited from this program.

This act of Compassion of purchasing someone’s future meal (a suspended meal) has also become popular in other countries. A “caffè sospeso” in Naples, Italy, is a cup of coffee paid in advance and offered to someone less fortunate for free. This began as a response to the 2008 global recession and is considered a sign of community solidarity. In Taiwan, a popular Facebook page informs people of restaurants that offer suspended meals and how many are available daily. Dubai has a similar program that gives back to the community.

This idea of bridging the gap between the poor and those more prosperous within a community allows people to live together with kindness and appreciation. It’s the concept behind “take a penny, leave a penny.” A person’s circumstances can change from place to taking bread on the hook. In these communities, people are prepared to nurture one another.