“Could you spare some change for a good cause?” Even asking for money, for an NGO, caused me to want to melt into the ground. Between people looking away and people pretending they didn’t hear me, I felt humiliated and rejected. When someone did want to donate, I was overjoyed but that feeling of rejection was still stinging clear. This lead me to think, if I feel this way just asking people for donations to an NGO, how do homeless people asking for change feel?
Unlike me, who can live without the money, a homeless person could be fighting to survive. That few cents may be the difference between a night of hunger and a meal. Putting myself out there was hard, but I can’t even fathom asking strangers, on the street, for money. The constant rejections, both verbal and non, would be unbearable, to someone like me. The resiliency required to do that is astounding and amazing.
I hate to admit that I often walk by a homeless person asking for money and turn my head away. Just like the people today, I pretend that if I don’t see the person, then I am invisible to them. After witnessing this, from the other end, I can say that this is not the case. I seemed to notice the people who turned away even more. I think I noticed because I felt like they didn’t even see me as human, just a mosquito in their life. From this day forward I will always look, and give an answer, even if the answer is, “Sorry, I can’t”. People asking for money have an amazing amount of resilience and strength, and they deserve to be treated like they are, human. Everyone has a story and I need to recognize that.
That being said, there are people who treat everyone with dignity. Today, some amazing people listened to our spiel and for that I am grateful. It’s not even about the donation; it’s about looking passed the request for money and seeing what people are all about. I am sure there are people who show this kind of love and compassion in the world to those asking for change as well.
Today was a personal challenge for me, and I hope tomorrow I can demonstrate some strength and resilience and ask more people to donate. We have raised $164.33 so far, and I’m sure tomorrow will be just as successful. Thank you to everyone who donated, and everyone who smiled at us, listened to us, and gave us words of encouragement. This social action project is not just about making a local and global change, it’s about making a personal change, and today I experienced that.
See you tomorrow!
Brita G
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