Volunteer Speak - Unmana

As usual, I attended the FOC meeting last Sunday 14th April 2007. It was a long meeting, and one that I fully enjoyed. This time, the students participated in a quiz and solved puzzles, and each spoke about one famous personality. Their confidence, their attitude, was admirable. It struck me, not for the first time, that they only need a little help to stand on their own feet, to make their own way in life.

For me, the highlight of the day came some way into the event, when most of the young people (students whose education the organisation sponsors) were busy in a game and two young men got up to leave. They were blind, but easily walked over to the volunteers to say goodbye. Venky called out, "Unmana, these are your boys."

Venky led them over to introduce them to me. They held out their hands. They spoke, confidently, confidingly, mentioning in the same breath their challenging studies and their determination to overcome them. I wished them luck and said goodbye.

The world seemed to have whirled around me. I sank into a chair, my legs suddenly feeling like they could not support my weight. I just sat for some time, feeling numb. Then I collected my feelings and examined them. One was embarrassment. I had not done much for them - nothing to denote them mine. I did not deserve that. Connected to that was shame. Could I do no more? Such a little went such a long way for them! Then came humility and respect in the face of that optimism, that confidence! Also perhaps, a little gratitude - to be able to reach out and touch that piece of sunshine.