WE ALL NEED SOMEBODY TO LEAN ON

To volunteer means to offer one’s time and efforts for a cause without being paid. It is a selfless service that when offered, gives life a different meaning (to me, at least). Most times, we get lost in our own world that we forget to do those little things that matter to people around us. It could be guiding an old lady/man to the right lane in the supermarket or offering to water the garden of that single mother whose kids won’t let her breathe. It could be offering to participate in community service or going to offer your free services in a building site or a health facility. Voluntary services include but are not limited to the above.

I love to volunteer. I love the peace and joy that comes with it. That feeling when you know that you just helped someone all because you want to is what I call priceless.

Throwback to my early years, I belonged to a group of young youths who would take a day off during the weekend to visit houses of the older citizens or people we knew needed help but have little of it. We would come over in mass and do every little household chore that needed to be done. From sweeping their houses to washing off their dirty plates, cutting any surrounding bushes, weeding their compounds, or anything our young hands found to do. We often went under the supervision of the older youths. We called it ‘community service’ and that was where I first learned the word. That was when I first knew how helping others makes you live. Fast forward to my university days, I belonged to a fellowship that engaged in similar activities. School activities wouldn’t let us do it as often as we wanted but it was refreshing to see young people making time out of their busy schedules to impact other people’s life. Sometimes we would clean up the school hostels or we would clean up a part in the school compound that no one else would and we knew could pose a threat to people’s lives. Say, an overgrown area that could breed reptiles. There were times we would contribute resources, cook up something delicious then, go into town and distribute the food to the hungry kids on the street, and other times we would gather resources from the little we had and make an actual visit to the motherless babies’ homes or the prisons.
The smiles on the faces of these people when they know that someone out there remembers them would always bring tears to my eyes, and as I write about it, I have chills.

Photo by Larm Rmah on Unsplash

Helping people will remain a noble act. True, the world has turned bad, and people fear helping others because of what they get in return. Recently, a story went viral of someone who was accused of poisoning a hungry kid she offered food just because got a tummy ache. The lady was made to pay all the kids’ hospital bills. As a result, this lady said she suffered a panic attack. Tell me why she would want to do that act again. So, I’d say, help regardless and while you try to help, stay smart. You could take the hungry person to a food vendor or restaurant, and have them served while you pay.
May we not suffer while trying to help others. Stay on guard, people.
Don’t forget, in a world where you can be anything, be kind.