Share the Love; See them SMILE.

Before I joined Generation Hope, my Sundays would mostly be spent in the house with a movie or just sleeping. Then this one particular Sunday, a friend of mine invited me to join her and her friends to visit a certain children’s home (aptly named Blessings Children’s Home). Yes, I was excited. What I didn’t know at the time is what kind of an impact the visit would have on me.

It was such a humbling experience. Spending the day with the kids, playing with them and interacting with them. Their innocence was just so humbling, but beneath that innocence was something else, the courage to keep at it, little as they are, they had a spark of courage coursing through them. Most of the kids were aged between 2-12, and despite their status quo, they were happy, they were jovial and most of all they had such grand dreams, to be doctors, to be pilots and others engineers. There was this particular kid, he is Allan Macharia. A cute little boy, shy but you could see beneath the shyness there was the spark of hope and I couldn’t help but feel the pride of a big brother as he sat on my lap. And at that moment it made me realize that this was something I wanted to do often. Spend time with such kids and may be, in more ways than I know, inspire them, just as they inspired me.

This experience made me realize one thing though, there is so much we take for granted. We often forget that all these things we tend to think they are always there and we are entitled to, that is not always the case. Things like the joy of a family, someone to call a brother or a sister or a mum or a dad, sure these titles are not restricted to blood relations only, but blood relations are surely an important part of our lives, knowing that you share more than just ideals, but also the same bloodline. But for some people, that is not always the case, they have to make do with what crappy hand the world has dealt them.

It made me realize that our lives should be more than just about us, that we should try to share the little we have with others who are less fortunate. We don’t have to be millionaires to give back to the society or to help someone, coz you see, we will always be more fortunate than some people and that little you think can’t be of any help, trust me, it can make such a huge difference to someone who has none, and also, giving your time is just as good. My friends and I didn’t take millions to that home, not even a hundred thousand, but we took smiles to those kids, we took inspiration, we took fun and most importantly, we took love, we showed them that they were just as important to this world as those kids out there with families and a dad and a mum, we showed them that, out there, there were big brothers and sisters who loved and cared for them. The reminder that they are not alone in this world. I am not rich, but there are other things I can offer to such kids. I have a bracelet given to me by a friend and it reads: “Share The Love” and this was all I was trying to do and will be doing every so often with such kids. Sharing the love I have been so lucky to receive my entire life. From my parents and big sisters and brothers. It was Mother Theresa who said that, “Let us not be satisfied with just giving money. Money is not enough, money can be got. But they need your hearts to love them. So spread your love everywhere you go.” And this, this is what we at Generation Hope try to do, SPREAD the LOVE, and see them SMILE. 

It was also Mother Theresa who said, “I alone cannot change the world, but I can cast a stone across the waters to create many ripples.” And this is all we ask of you as our partners, join us, help us create these ripples across the hearts of beautiful innocent children who need our love. Note, not pity, but our LOVE, and mentorship. We have one belief here at Generation Hope, and it is that, No ACT of KINDNESS, no matter how small, IS EVER WASTED.