Helping other people this year

By Joshua Corcuera 

We are definitely living in a time of struggle. Of course, there are some few people who are privileged enough to remain well-off or, at least, make ends meet amid soaring inflation. However, for the vast majority of people, the times are not so good given how expensive cost of living has become.

As a saying goes, no man is an island, and that humans are social beings who need to interact with fellow humans to live and sustain themselves. This is especially true as we deal with trying times. Henceforth, lending a helping hand to others, especially to those in need, is something that we should try to do. It begs asking, therefore, if in what way can we help other people.

There are several ways to help the less privileged. When we are in malls or stores, some establishments collect voluntary donations for certain causes. For instance, there is this mall in Manila where I often see a donation box of a non-profit organization, which if I am not mistaken is UNICEF. On that box, one can donate any amount by inserting coins or bills. It is actually a transparent box and, based on my personal observation, most contributions are 5-peso or 10-peso coins.

Still, by dropping even a small amount, you can contribute to making someone’s life somehow better. After all, if 100,000 people contributed 10 pesos each, the total collection would amount to a million pesos. This is possible especially that Metro Manila alone is home to around 12 million people, and some people even contribute bills rather than coins.

Hence, if these contributions are accumulated, such non-profit organizations can initiate projects such as building shelters for those whose homes were destroyed by storms, or giving food, medicine, and clean water to communities that suffered destruction from typhoons, and so forth. This is why we often hear of numerous organizations donating a lot of much-needed supplies after calamities.

Recently, the Rotaract club that I am a part of, with the help of a certain Rotary club, turned over farming materials to a chosen community, and also participated in a seed gifting activity in a community in Metro Manila. If one has a lot of time to join service-oriented organizations, be it in your school or your work or your church, you can contribute your time and effort in their activities and initiatives.

The common programs by small clubs and organizations in helping their chosen communities include feeding programs, teaching programs where young children on the streets are taught how to read and write, and cleaning programs where volunteers collect and dispose waste found on places where they should not be. I remember when I was a freshman at my university, my NSTP class went to a wetland park in southern Metro Manila as part of efforts to clean the protected area.

As you may have realized, there are more ways than one to help people. As we live in these trying times, there is no reason not to try to be helpful and compassionate to others.