BBS KJS Opinion: Helping The Less Fortunate

In the spirit of providing a platform for students to voice their ideas and showcase their writing skills, BBS KJS presents to you Opinion.

Written by: Shania Spall (Junior College 1) for her CB Project

As teenagers, we are still dependent on our parents as we are not eligible yet to work and earn money for ourselves. Yes we may earn pocket money, but really, is that enough to provide for everything? Most teenagers would tend to spend as little as possible simply because their requirements are too much, let alone sharing with others, even with themselves they are sometimes… ‘stingy’. It’s not that teenagers do not want to help others, but again, it is because they feel like they do not have enough to help. This is entirely false as helping others can be from anyone, no matter how old they are or how much they earn.

Now, how exactly can we, as teenagers, help the less fortunate people? Let me tell you an experience of my own.

Being a high school student, my schedule is very much packed to the point where I am very oblivious to my surroundings. This means that I would wake up very early in the morning to leave for school, then arrive home in the afternoon, sometimes in the evening. This is like a repetitive cycle which I have grown accustomed to. Basically, whatever that goes on outside my house is beyond my acknowledgement. It is quite devastating to be honest. Personally, I enjoy being outside, however, the workload I have just prevented me from doing so, there is just no time for it. Even if I do not have any schoolwork, my obstacle would be the exhaustions from a long day at school.

“When hard times are etched upon their faces, pour them some hope by reaching out your hand to lift them.” -Anonymous

With the presence of this ongoing living nightmare, aka the covid-19 pandemic, I have been spending more time at home. Although this gets really boring after a while, I am quite glad that this lockdown happens. Do not get me wrong, I absolutely hate this ‘imprisonment’. However, it gives me the time to relax and actually enjoy my living environment. One of the things which I am most grateful of is the fact that this lockdown has made me realise how I could help other people on my own. 

One night, as I opened the door to my porch, I saw this family of four sitting outside my house. The children were still very young, one was a toddler, the other was still an infant. At first, I thought that they were just resting for a bit before going home, however, even until midnight, they have not moved an inch. This has been happening for nearly every single night, from god knows when, possibly even since before this pandemic. And every night, both children, especially the baby, kept on wailing. Even until early in the morning, his constant wailing did not stop. 

Looking at them, I felt absolutely miserable. I did not even feel the slightest bit annoyed at them for being extremely loud at night. Seriously, who could blame them? At a very young age, they must sleep on hard concrete in the cold night while I have been very privileged to stay in a well-conditioned house, with comfortable beds and air conditioned room. Such strong children they are! That night, something inside me moved, I am committed to help them in whatever way I can. 

I looked around my room to find anything, ANYTHING at all which I could give to help them. I then remembered my books which I used to read when I was younger. These books are still in a good condition, some are even still sealed. So I thought, why don’t I share with them? I believe that it would be more useful for them than me. Furthermore, during this lockdown, I have also stocked up on many kinds of snacks and drinks, loads of them. This include biscuits, milk and tea. I decided to give some to them as well, again it would be more beneficial for them than it would be for me. I then place these snacks and drinks, along with the books, tidily in a huge box which I would hand over to them personally the following day.

The next day, which was fortunately a Saturday, I peeked out of the house and looked for them. The sky was still a little dark as it was still transitioning into day. Thankfully, they are still outside, so I grabbed the box and approached them. Following the social distancing protocol, I could not stay long. However, I stayed long enough to see their expressions, the grateful looks of the parents and the ecstatic look of the older child as they saw the items I brought. Multiple thank yours were said. Hearing that, I felt all warm inside. I just felt delighted that day, I realised how giving is actually as good, or even better than receiving. I understood why I have to be grateful for what I have. There are many people out there who are suffering, they would do anything to be in my position, it would be like going into heaven for them. That day, I realised how lucky I am.

What really caught my eye was the child’s expression, who knows how something which I considered trivial could be something very valuable for others. I felt ashamed, a child who is younger than me, can be satisfied by such a simple thing. What I gave was really simple but meaningful, it brought happiness to them. I may not have my own income, but I realised that helping others, does not always mean giving financial aids. Anything we can do, which lessens someone else’s burden is possibly a tremendous help already. In conclusion, everyone can help the less fortunate ones, it does not matter how old we are. It is also very advisable for us fortunate people to help in any way we can.

Ever since that incident, I place a commitment in myself in which I would continue to help others. I would like to encourage others to do the same. It does not make life difficult but it makes other people’s life less difficult. So really, what have we got to lose? Of course when we help these less fortunate people, we MUST be sincere and not wish for anything in return

Note:

* The opinion expressed here are solely exclusive of the authors and due care has been exercised to avoid any form of plagiarism as much as possible.

* If you have an original write up that you would like to share, why not be part of BBS Opinion? Send us your docx file via email to ganeswaran.kjs@binabangsaschool.com (and do not forget photos!)

* Your writing must be engaging, sensitive, informative, and roughly 300 words or more.