What it Means to be a Humanitarian
by Tara M
“Remember, if you ever need a helping hand, it’s at the end of your arm, as you get older, remember you have another hand: The first is to help yourself, the second is to help others.” – Sam Levenson
People often ask themselves “How can I make an impact on the world?” or “what can I do to make the world a better place?” and then, before you know it, they haven’t actually done anything besides perhaps be more conscious about putting their beer cans in the recycling bin.
My name is Tara. I’m a married 20-something from Australia. My parents divorced when I was little. I grew up in a middle class household with a few siblings that I loved yet feared because I was the youngest. I don’t let much bother me and I’m very laid back. It took me several years, two diplomas (one in Event management and one in Social work), to find out that all I ultimately want to do is help people. It also took some more time before I realized that I wanted to help people with my writing, and no before you say it, I don’t mean those self-help books that just seem to make me shudder at the sight of them. Do they make you shudder too?
When I discovered that writing is my passion and needed to be what I pursue, I had to learn what type of writer I wanted to be. Upon trying to write several dark comedies and satires, I realized that humor, as much as I am naturally funny, isn’t what I would predict myself writing. I also realized my writing had to come from yet another place that felt natural to me, which was positivity. Being upbeat and socially outgoing is like catnip for me, seriously. I’m also one of those people who, although I respect that people are religious, I don’t use religion as a way of spreading that love through my writing.
After a few years of being in and out of jobs that I more or less hated. I started writing and doing freelance work here and there, including starting my blog. Even that wasn’t enough for me to feel as though I was leaving enough of a footprint. So, one day last year, I heard of a volunteer position that had opened up at a very well-known humanitarian organization (it’s a secret, I can’t tell you what organization) and I’d decided that, that was the day that I was going to leave a mark on the world that some people only dreamt of being able to do.
In a nutshell, at this organization I am one of a few people that helps with campaign organization, fundraising and raising awareness through different avenues. I don’t travel the world and help build schools or create new water wells or anything to that extent. I’m behind the scenes if you will, helping to make it possible for a better planet.
Being behind the curtain provides me with the knowledge that I am one small part of the puzzle that is helping provide people with basic needs that we sometimes take for granted. If you take anything away from reading this, know that when you’re washing your dishes with clean water or putting your head down on the pillow at night, know that millions upon millions of people in the world don’t have something as simple as clean water or luxurious as a pillow.
Fast-forward to a few weeks ago and a co-worker said something like “I wonder how much of the money that’s raised actually gets used to help people”. Most people would widely react with a similar sort of question floating around in their head, especially when they’ve had a bad day like the one that I’d had that day. Which I would assume, for most people, you wouldn’t think that a question like that holds power, but it really does.
My response headed in a different direction all together, “Well, a good percentage of it does, and a very small amount goes toward resources and paying staff. No organization that relies solely on donations from the public would be able to sustain regular staff, volunteers and campaigns without using some of that money to keep the ball rolling. There’s more to working for a humanitarian organization than just setting out to help one cause, it’s about helping our community too, it’s not just about providing awareness or helping disadvantaged communities on the other side of the planet, it starts with you and everyone around you”.
I think of all the people who I am helping, including those around me. This may sound strange but I think that the people I work with and the volunteers that I’m surrounded by are possibly the most unselfish, most appreciative people I’ve ever met. They’re backgrounds are a lot like mine, yet there’s a kind of beauty in them that is just scintillating. When you’re giving back and you know that you’re doing so many good deeds for so many people, it’s wonderfully overwhelming. To do that with a group of like-minded people makes it even more worthwhile because you’re sharing it with other people who, quite frankly, also give a damn.
How many times have you experienced troubles in your life? We all have, I know how that feels too. I often wonder if that’s why people are sometimes less likely to go out on a limb for somebody else because they’re going through a rough patch. I understand that, but I fear that we get so wrapped up in ourselves and our own problems that we don’t see the bigger picture.
You don’t have to work for a humanitarian organizations, nor do you have to necessarily help within your own community, although that would be awesome if you did. The real secret to helping humanity and leaving a positive mark on the world, starts in your own backyard. If you are someone who makes a point to smile at a fellow shopper at the supermarket or listens to a friend when they’ve had a bad day, then you’re already leaving a positive mark and telling the world that you’re someone who is at least willing to help put fires out, no matter how small. But wondering about how much donated money that, (let’s face it, would have been spent on new gadgets), is going to help the disadvantaged then something is clearly wrong with your definition of what it truly means to be compassionate and caring.
You may not think that smiling at someone or giving a homeless person your last bit of change is a big deal, or, if you’re like me, you’ll think it’s not enough. Either way, you should know that it will help you just as much as it may help them. It will help empower you to be the best person you can be and isn’t that all anyone wants from life? It will give you humbleness that can’t be found anywhere else except by helping another human being. Whether they’re a complete stranger or your own mother, give someone a helping hand and show kindness.
Thanks for reading.
Love From Tara xo
P.S. I’d like to thank my friends here at the Kindness Blog for giving me the opportunity to share some love and insight. It’s truly been a joy to be able to write this for you and I hope I’m back one day soon to write something else for you and your readers.
Read more from Tara at the Love From Tara blog…
Kindness Blog 