Reaching Out

My mother used to tell me and my siblings to always start our year right by showing kindness to other people. Thus, it has become our family tradition to give out clothes and shoes that we’ve grown out of, old bags and other things in our closets.

This year, my sister and I chose a woman who has an admirable strength and unwavering faith in God.

Here's her story..

She is a midwife by profession but she preferred to just stay at home taking care of her four children (the eldest is still in high school while the youngest is about seven years old) when her husband was working abroad. They were doing well until two years ago, he got sick and came home with paralysis.

She worried of her family's future but she gathered all her strength as she knew she had to be strong for her family. She then decided to volunteer as a nurse aide in a government hospital earning only an honorarium fee. As sideline, she would accept laundry after work and on weekends. (They also live in the slums with no decent access to clean water and proper sanitation.)

In spite of everything, this woman remains collected, patient, and prayerful. She is also fun to be around. She laughs and laughs as if she's not carrying the world on her shoulders.

I definitely admire her and so we gave her our bundle of joy.

As the old adage goes: Kindness spreads happiness. I totally agree.