Better to Give than to Receive

The philosophy of life here, translated…

Our family had been giving to WorldVision Org for over a decade now, every year, my husband would get a lump sum year-end bonus from work, and I’d donated an extra couple of thousand dollars to the children we’re sponsoring.  Three years ago, after my husband retired, I’d still sent the money out like we’d always done, didn’t stop the donating process, because my husband didn’t work anymore.

On this day, I’d gotten a letter from Rwanda, other than the father of the child we’d sponsored who’d written, it also had a handwritten note from the man in charge of the region, responsible for the receiving of the donations, it had: Glad to receive the money for the children you’d donated, we’re truly grateful to you, for helping the kids, everybody is very happy here.  They’d decided to buy some necessities they needed for their homes—a goat, so their land could be more fertile, food (corn powder and beans), the hoe, cooking oil, pots and pans for cooking, salt, sugar, etc., etc., etc., with your donations, their daily living needs are now filled, and, I’m writing, on behalf of the people you’d helped in this area, the workers of this program, the members of the community, especially the family you’d helped, I’m sending the deepest gratitude to you!

After I’d read, I was overcome with this feeling of being moved, they’d received the materials, while I’d gotten the fulfillments; through the letters they’d written, I’d felt their hearts of gratitude, floating overseas.

Taiwan is very well off, and, a few thousand dollars can buy so much in Africa, allowing those who need, to have more to live off of.  It is better to give, than to receive, I’m just as happy as they are, soaking, basking, in the happiness of being able to offer the assistance to someone in need.

And so, this is like that psychological concept of how helping out lifts up one’s own moods, which makes the person wanting to help out even more, and, it is touching, when you hear or see stories of how someone’s donations had helped out a family in need.