A year of donating
How donating to others helped me
In the year 2017, I started with a new year resolution. Donating to a different cause every month. As this was just the start of my career plus I didn’t have enough knowledge of which one actually works I started with a small sum of ₹500 every month.
In the first month, I donated it to cancer research. It was the most general one that I could find. No particular reason, just an act, based on the fact that people find it good. After doing it, I developed a sense of gratitude. It was a very small feeling, but a powerful one.
In February, I went for an eye checkup in Sakra, and it was a coincidence that a school for blind people just happened to put up their exhibition of craft. It was so different, even though the crafts were not color-coordinated, but the patterns were so symmetric. And the sheer joy that they presented it with. It touched me deeply. So this time I donated to eye care.
On my birthday month March, I took out the time to get several biscuits and packets for the sum, and living in Bangalore I found needy on every turn, it is sad, but I got a chance to give the food items to them directly. Every time I gave to those hands a part of me changed. I was not only hoping for them to get better but developed a deep sense of gratitude for the blessings that I had received on this planet.
In April, I donated for a child’s education, I knew this sum was not enough, but I did it anyway, keeping my promise for now, not creating huge pressure for myself immediately, but to even further explore these activities. Really understand if there was a better way. Education is my key belief. In my opinion, the information is the single most important thing a person can be provided with externally to change his life.
In May, by this time I started researching more, upon how my contributions can become more meaningful, I came accross several ways, including opensource being an option, IT being my felt, it really changed my perspective, as several projects have been contributed for, only through goodwill, so I contributed towards my favourite open source IDE.
June, contributed towards Wikipedia
July, UNICEF came infront of my tech park, and were collecting for sponsorships, they said I needed to make a regular donation, by this time I was ready for donating towards a child’s education, but they asked me to do something which was not quite honest, in the form they wanted me to fill incorrect information about my birthday, as they felt, above 25 years in somewhat of a milestone, and the person will be more committed if that is reached. I obviously refused, but created one time donation nonetheless.
August, contributed towards food drives.
September, contributed towards tree plantation.
October, I segregated my cloths which did not fit me at all, and gave it to the next person who wanted it, it was a beautiful process, as the things that were just causing me the trouble of more storage, actually were of value at someone else’s hands. It’s like stones suddenly changes to gold, something like that.
November, I think I donated blood, with the donation camp organised at the office, took lots of pomegranate before and after the process, so didn’t feel a thing, apart from the little anxiety of seeing a pile of my blood in a plastic bag. But I really hope and prayed at that time that this blood was useful for any person out there.
December well I don’t remember clearly anymore. But yeah I kept my resolution. I realised inbetween, a sum of ₹500 is not going to make much of a difference, towards the other person’s life. But it created a huge difference in mine. I felt empowered, I felt more valuable. This particular amount made my whole sense of earning a lot more responsible. I now understand how helping someone is a two way process.