As we go through our lives, it is easy to become entirely wrapped up in the mundane activities of daily living. I know where my next meal will come from, I know where I will sleep at night. It is easy to forget that others might not have these same luxuries.
President John F. Kennedy once said, “Never before has man had such a great capacity to control his own environment, to end hunger, poverty, and disease, to banish illiteracy and human misery. We have the power to make the best generation of mankind in the history of the world.”
Though dated, this quote remains true. It provides many insights to modern life and truly spoke to me with the service we engaged in today.
Today, we worked with an organization called New Life for Old Bags. We transformed old plastic bags into weightless, durable sleeping mats to give to people who are homeless. The extensive process to create one mat takes about 80 hours and 500-700 bags. NLOB volunteers have made over 2000 sleeping mats in the past five years. The innovative project not only helps the homeless community, but also re-purposes nonperishable materials for a more sustainable environment. It was an amazing feeling to be able to build an item that will be used directly by someone who needs it.
During reflection, we discussed the differences between “helping”, “fixing”, and “serving”. A quote we particularly focused on is by Rachel Naomi Remen. It reads: “Fixing and helping create a distance between people, but we cannot serve at a distance. We can only serve that to which we are profoundly connected.” We are not serving the weak or broken, as helping or fixing insinuates, but rather serving others who also have whole and purposeful lives.
We discussed that as young students from five very differential countries, we have the capability to make a difference in society and to increase the emphasis placed on volunteering to the homeless communities around the world. We have the power to change volunteering perspectives in society as a whole from “helping” and “fixing” to “serving”; being aware of the wholeness in ourselves, the wholeness in others, and the wholeness in life. Service is a relationship between equals, and with this mindset, we have the ability to make a difference in each community we interact with and consequently inspire others to make a difference across the world.