Volunteering to develop a community

I have been volunteering for some time. I started doing this a few years ago when I felt utterly useless and depressed. The thought of unused and wasted time was quite depressing, yet I could not think of ways to overcome this situation. Then as if in answer to a prayer an angel appeared at my door. She is now in Heaven and may the good Lord bless her soul. She was a student who came here on a scholarship to do her studies in Food Technology and was writing for her PhD. She was sent to me by a Government Institution to find out if I could help her. She was there at my door to learn from me my secrets of what I did with fruit and vegetables.

At the time I was recuperating from spinal injuries. More than the disability it depressed me very much when the realization hit me that I could not be of much use around. This situation hit me very hard and I felt utterly useless.

An Angel Enters My Life

This angel came at the right time to bring back my sanity. I sat there with her and listened to her story. I showed her the many things that can be done and how to turn food products as a home based industry, things to make from surplus fruit that would otherwise be wasted, and how it can help her in her endeavors. We became firm friends and I offered her my kitchen and my help to develop new technologies in preparing food as a home based business, especially designed for young stay at home mothers.

Thus equipped she started out on her work, selecting a remote village to implement her project. She did all the training by her self as I was unable to travel at the time. Selected women were sent to me to learn many other craft that would eventually help them turn into home based entrepreneurs. This was the best therapy for my mental condition and a good way to spend time that otherwise would have been wasted and mentally debilitating.

Then suddenly she disappeared from my life without a word. I wondered if she had gone back to her country and home. But I thought that it was so unlike her not to have told me that she was going. Probably it was an emergency. Many thoughts crossed my mind but not this... I read in the local newspapers... a little article hardly even noticeable that she had been in an accident which claimed her life. Years later I heard that it happened on the road to another new village.

Rewarding

There is always something very rewarding about giving your energy, time, and talent to help others. I wanted to give back to the community, and I can honestly say that I have never looked back or regretted it. Even if you don't expect anything in return, you definitely get something wonderful back in the process. You get the deep satisfaction that comes from helping others in the knowledge of the happiness that results from making a difference in someone else's life.

When I join a group to work with, it inspires me to see the efforts of other volunteers working with me, as well as to be reminded of my own good fortune. Since becoming well enough to volunteer, I became part of a much larger community that I had no idea even existed. It opened up a whole new world of caring and the knowledge that our efforts created financial stability within the rural poor sector, even in small ways are rewarding thoughts to savor.

There are many opportunities open for us to serve others and so many places where we can offer our time and services. In recent years, most of us have become familiar with emergency volunteerism, risking life and limb to help others in disastrous situations.

We Don't Have To Wait For a Disaster

However, we don't have to wait for a disaster to happen in order to find ways to support our needy neighbors and communities. The options are varied and numerous. We could volunteer our skills or services at a hospital, prison, retirement center or nursing home. Become a hospice volunteer, help out at a shelter for the homeless, or teach someone how to read, or mentor a child. We can help feed the hungry and visit the sick or help the differently abled. These are just a few suggestions that I offer in encouragement. All that is required of us is a small amount of our time, an open mind, and the understanding of how important our time and kindness is to those we help. I believe in teaching and helping people ways by which they can climb out of a poverty situation even to a small extent that will boost their morale and self respect.

Join Up and Be Rewarded

Friends, I applaud your efforts if you are already a volunteer. If you are not a volunteer and think you might like to be one, research and join with organizations in your area where you think your talents could be of service or where you want to help. Remember, when you make a contribution to your neighborhood and community, you enrich your own life, as well as it did mine. It gave me back my sanity and helped me become a better person. It showed me another side of life and I learned to value my own without taking it for granted.