It feels so great when you plant a seed and see it grow gently into a tree. What is even more delightful is to get an opportunity to nourish many little saplings; relish the vision of a greener future and when it is finally there you can elatedly say I was there……I was there to make the difference. I love being with kids, how can you not love few sweet little kids standing in front of you with nothing but loads of innocence in their eyes? It breaks my heart when I see anguish in those very eyes, filled with a cry for help. They are not made for tears; they should only embrace joy, there is no place for despair in them, they should only enclose dreams of an exuberant tomorrow…. Whenever I used to see some child begging in the streets, carrying few cups of tea to make some money, cleaning windshields of cars on traffic signals….I used to call him and feed him with whatever I could, but on the inside I felt really bad that I cannot do anything….cannot change the things as they are. But now I think it’s better to put in whatever little efforts that I can instead of just feeling miserable and helpless, after all it takes hundreds of steps to walk a mile…..and I have miles to go before I sleep.
Nikhil B. from Hyderabad had this to say when he signed up to volunteer with Vibha. He also dreams of a better future for many, just like all of us do here at Vibha.
When I was a young girl, I always asked this question to my parents, ” Why do we have so much and some people don’t have anything ?”, to which my parents replied, ” God gave us so much, so that we can give it to those who don’t have anything.” A few years later my sister and I took our saved piggy bank money and went to a famous bakery nearby to get chocolate doughnuts. While coming out after paying at the counter, coin by coin and eagerly waiting to take a big bite, we saw an old lady; very bony, barely able to walk begging on the footpath. She stopped us and asked for money but we didn’t have any. We walked past her and looked at our doughnuts. Something tugged at our hearts and we couldn’t bring ourselves to eat it. Both of us turned around and went looking for her. We gave her the cover that contained two delicious chocolate doughnuts and told her there was food in it.The smile on her face made us forget everything. It gave us a sense of satisfaction. I slowly began to realize that its not about writing a cheque for thousands of rupees to an organization when you cannot, but its about what you do everyday. If a small help on a normal day can definitely bring a smile on someone’s face then why not do it ? If the morsels of food wasted on your plate can be someone’s meal then why waste that. In the end we all live for the moment. We do so many things just to experience a moment of happiness. So if you can make someone’s moment happy then do it because a small step can surely go a long way.
Deepti S., another Vibha volunteer from Minnesota, had these thoughts to share. Words and thoughts like these serve as inspiration for many, and keep us motivated everyday. If you feel connected with these words, and if you feel there is something within you that inspires you to bring happiness to many such underprivileged children, join us here.