One drop at a time...

I used to be very optimistic. Believing that I could make a difference in the world, in someone’s life. But somewhere along the way...I lost faith and forgot that something small could reach far and wide. Until I saw a bright smile on a handicapped child riding a horse, with me walking beside her, singing forgotten childhood songs. But that was just the first step. It were the words of a neighbor that hit home and moved me to tears. He told me a story that ignited the spark to do good, how small it may seem.

Every year he is a guide in Vietnam and Cambodia for about 3 months. He’s been going to that area for over 20 years. This is a man who loves children and after all these years still hurts to see them in poverty. He’s got so many stories to tell about streetkids that haven’t seen a school in their whole lives and yet can have an adult conversation with you in French or English at the age of 8. One even knew about the Mad Cow decease and asked him why we didn’t give the cows to them. The cows were gonna be killed anyway, the meat destroyed. Why not give that meat to people who are starving? The reality was that before the decease could show in humans (in Cambodia), those humans would probably be dead anyway. That was a fast ball to the gut. But that wasn’t the story I was talking about earlier.

He told me that one time, when he was planning to dine with a friend. He saw a mother and her small child begging in front of the restaurant where they were planning to eat. The mother was proud, the child looked happy, just people who had the misfortune to have no money. He felt sick, because he was going to eat and drink in that restaurant. Knowing that a beer costs 3 dollar...enough money to feed that child for a week. The child was almost bare, except for a very torn too small t-shirt. He couldn’t make himself go in that restaurant and eat and drink as if there was nothing going on. So he told his friend he was going to do something about it. His friend looked puzzled and said “You can’t save them all.” On which my neighbor replied; “But that’s not an excuse not to help at all.” He stepped into a supermarket nearby, bought a t-shirt and trousers for the kid, put them in plastic bag along with some money and gave it to the mother. Not even waiting for a thank you he left for the restaurant to have his dinner. Such a small gesture, with such a big impact, because when he left the restaurant that little kid came running to him thanking him for his new clothes... He probably hadn’t worn new clothes all his life. It only cost my neighbor a few dollars. But he made a change. He made that little child happy, someone who didn’t know him cared...

At the end of every excursion he gives a speech to the tourists of his group (he goes with them for about 2 weeks) and tells them that he is gonna give his tip to the local hospital. With that money children can have a consult for free. In every group there is always someone who says something like...”What a waste, it is like carrying water to the ocean,” or “It is like putting a drop of water on a hot stove (dutch saying).” He just replies “Buddha said once...The ocean is made out of drops.” And then he tells them that a consult costs only 25 cents and that the 120 euro of tip he received, can help about 480 children. Something small can make a big impact. I am humbled by his big heart and lightened by the knowledge that I can make a difference too...one drop at a time.