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The helping hand
Naseema is a sixteen-year-old girl, suffering from mental retardation. When I first visited the orphanage where she resides, I found her sitting silently in a corner, appearing almost inanimate. However, as I started talking to her, she abruptly interrupted me and exclaimed, ‘Baji! Let me sing to you... I possess a remarkable voice!” To me, like any other outsider, it appeared that she was uttering gibberish, just another proof of her sad state of mind. Yet I was proved wrong the next moment when she started singing catches from old Bollywood songs. She indeed possessed a fine voice, and as I commended her I saw her face lit up with joy. I knew I had made her day.Naseema is just one among thousands of special children who, on the surface appear so much beneath us both physically and mentally. However, when probed from within we realise that they possess gifts that, astonishingly, surpass our very own faculties. For instance, I remember a six year old girl, who was both deaf and dumb. She had never received any schooling before. Nevertheless, when a volunteer started teaching her, within around two weeks she not only learnt about numbers but also how to solve addition and subtraction sums correctly. Whereas ordinary children take around four years of schooling to reach the same level of competence! So who is better?
Just as their gifts amaze us, at the same time their unfortunate conditions evoke poignancy. If you make an attempt to find out more about such people who live in orphanages, welfare centres, and even on the roads, whom you pass by in your daily lives without even giving a second glance, you will observe that a whole spectrum of tragedies have beset them, from losing both of their parents to suffering from the worst forms of disorders that have completely stunted their mental and physical development. As for us, God has endowed us with so many blessings — even if you attempt to count them all you would never complete your list.
Thus, it’s our moral obligation as humans to give some time to such people, to ameliorate their conditions, or even at the very least, to make them feel just better. However, it can be said that at this stage our studies must always take first priority, plus we have our responsibilities towards those dearest to us. Nevertheless, with the exams over for most of us and summer vacations just around the corner, we would be having plenty of free time. Even otherwise, isn’t it better to utilise the time you spend gossiping on the phone or playing video games for a more worthwhile cause? You don’t need to devote large chunks of time towards community service. As the saying goes, ‘one drop and another make the ocean’, just a couple of hours every month would be enough to better a life.
Visiting community centres has the most humanising impact upon a person. It’s true you see so much misery there... much more than you could have imagined otherwise. However, at the same time you see the remarkable courage and grit of those people going through all this. I know a beautiful eight-year-old girl, who has been paralysed since birth and abandoned by her parents. Yet she still hopes that one morning she will be able to run like normal children and walk to school. It is after meeting such people that we realise how fortunate we are, and the matters about which we are whining all day then appear so minor and insignificant.
Really, we see how ungrateful we can become. Perhaps at the start, when you visit these places, you may find some people there, to be honest, dirty and deformed and ugly. I myself was vexed for the first time when I found them pressing hard against me and craving for my attention. In fact, I had been warned beforehand not to freak out. Gradually, however, I realised that these people were very beautiful from within, who treasured even the smallest things in life, such as a kiss or a candy, since they are deprived even of that. You learn to love people for whatever they are, because in fact they are really good in some other, hidden way.
Apart from this, you can also raise funds to support charity organisations. Don’t be scared! On the surface this may seem like a hard and big task, but believe me, it’s not! For example, you may group together with a few volunteers and sell hand-made greeting cards, used books, craftwork, etc. In some schools a bake sale is held annually. Here students bring in homemade foodstuffs and sell them to other students during recess time. Often students also organise fun fares with numerous games, hairdressing, food, entertainment shows, raffle draws, etc. Each item charges a nominal price. Apart from generating substantial amount of money, such activities can be loads of fun. They will also improve your organisational and managerial skills. Or you may write out letters for donations to private corporations and get them signed by your class. Several more organisations raise funds through stage plays and concerts, so maybe you can try out that. You see, if you are keenly interested for a cause, many more useful, fresh ideas will naturally come popping up.
And if you still can’t decide as to what to do, simply sign up with some welfare organisation. They hold numerous walks, lectures, visits, etc. throughout the year, so you would be automatically directed as to what to do and fulfil your responsibility towards the society.
To be honest, community service can sometimes pall one! So whatever you do, make sure you like it and it fits your temperament. Thus you would be more likely to perform your tasks with greater vigour and effort. For instance, perhaps you enjoy teaching children, so go for it. If you have an aptitude for medicine, working in some welfare clinic or organ donation centre would be ideal. I have a young neighbour who is very passionate about reciting the Holy Quran exquisitely. She therefore gives free recital lessons to the orphan children of our nearby mosque.
Whatever you do, be extremely sincere in your work; it is an essential pre-requite for performing meaningful service towards humanity. Keep in mind that we youngsters, at this age, possess the freshest capabilities and boundless energy. Then why not spend just a little bit of it on others and, as the saying goes, ‘make a difference in the world’?
Some sites to help you get started:
http://www.prcs.org.pk/
http://www.thecitizensfoundation.org
http://www.rozan.org/
http://xiber.com/behbud/
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