Make A Change

You may start by doing something small. What do you have to give with? Time, material, knowledge. Who do you want to help? Could you be merely looking to massage your own ego? Be careful there. Would throwing a lavish party for a bunch of disadvantaged folks be that beneficial? Are you familiar with the concept of over-compensation? In helping effectively, we need to understand the wisdom behind it. Are we willing to be inconvenienced when we give others’ help? Does helping another always have to be fun? You may start by helping with simple things that could still be fun, but do not overdo with something you lack the commitment and ability to upkeep. It would not be good help if you introduced an upper-class lifestyle to another who has trouble with a hungry stomach or a decent shelter, if you are not able to change their lives completely.

Avoid giving materially, that is actually the easiest form of helping. Look at poor rich children who lacks the parents’ attention, all they get is material things. If you want to give materially, start by looking at your recipients living conditions, what is lacking in their daily lives and what could they be struggling with that could do with your help.

If you see a sick and hungry stray animal, it would not make any sense of give it a big turkey that would last a meal. It might be more practical to spread out the cost to bring the animal to be cleaned and treated medically, give shelter or feed it with simple nutritional food for a longer term basis.

If you want to help a underprivileged or disadvantaged child, it would be impractical to shower the child with toys and fun times if his/her daily conditions leave us lots of room to improve. It might be wiser to improve his/her living conditions, reach the child how to read and instill values of education so you may teach the child to fish, instead of just giving fish.

If you want to help a poor beggar, it would be wise to know what he/she needs most. Sometimes it is shelter, sometimes it is food, sometimes it is a fresh change of clothes or a bath. Giving money could be impractical because he/she might use it for unwholesome activities such as to feed an addiction that they cannot afford.

If you want to help an old person who is living in a shelter, it might be most effective to bring comfort by having a caring chat, giving a massage to ease a body pain, grooming and if possible bring a person who would put laughter back in his/her life. Often these folks do not get to see their own kin so frequently and may be hurting from it. A lavish party would not do.

How about a little insect? Is it worthy of your help? Perhaps by suppressing the urge to kill it, is the greatest act of compassion. If a snail was lost, you could bring it back to its’ natural habitat. If an ant was in your way, you could use a paper and take it to an outdoor spot where it would disturb nobody. If you lack talent in rearing fish, do not own an aquarium.

How else can you help?

What about giving your time? It is the most important commodity. People often throw money to help because they are not able to give their time. Our challenge is to give time and spend those time in the most effective manner possible. We may also help by using our resources, knowledge, skills, influence and et cetera. Sometimes if you can help by making an introduction to the right person who can help, and getting the person interested to help. You could use your skills in troubleshooting to solve some daily issues for someone lacking the knowledge. You could help by writing letters, making phone calls, providing transport or shelter, repairing things, coaching someone how to do something useful, suggesting improvements and giving aid to achieve them, helping clean, drawing out structure if there was chaos, supplying a steady supply of rice/sugar/flour, taking care of monthly utility bills… et cetera.

To be honest, if we really wanted to help, there are multitudes of avenues to help without the talk of money or materialistic means. We do what we can, it boils down to how much effort we want to put in. Look first into the the basic and practical needs of the recipient and be mindful to help with a simple motivation to improve another life.

Helping Angels do not have any tax exemption activities. We do not welcome politicking, commercial marketing or religious evangelism. There are no fund raising activities, neither do we handle any type of donation. We only help by pointing you in the right direction towards undiscovered corner of society that is in need of some basic practical help.

If you are not able to give time, please browse into our classifieds to see who needs what, and go directly to help. We do not play any middle-men roles.

Who else needs help?

Sometimes people who need help does not even know it or are too proud to admit it. We could look within and see some aspects of ourselves that we are defensive about receiving help. Our pride tend to get in the way of improvements. We could help ourselves by overcoming the ugly pride and adopt humility in learning. That is probably the best way to bring positivity into our own life, by changing ourselves without expecting others to change.

We always should start our charities at home. Start being a helping angel by sorting out your family issues for instance. You could help by being filial to your elders and dutiful to the young. Sometimes unresolved matters at home can be most difficult indeed. It is probably best to start there despite the urge to sweep them under the carpet. If you refuse to tackle your personal matters when you could, and consume all your time into helping outside matters, you are merely indulging in a form of escapism. Sometimes it might be useful to put in the effort at home and then you will be more effective outside in any avenue of help that you may want to offer others. You may opt to do both simultaneously, by starting your charity at home as well as outside.

Practice generosity towards your family, friends, colleagues, acquaintances and strangers. It can start with a simple smile or a sincere compliment. With animals, it could be a conscious choice not to kill it or eat it while it is still alive.

We could also help by conserving the environment. Reduce, reuse and recycle. Be learned about environmental issues and install a sustainable lifestyle that will not increase the usage of plastics or unnecessary energy.

Thank you for reading!