Yayasan Suria JB (YSJB) – Serving with L
ve & Humility!
Yes. This is our YSJB’s motto!
It is never easy to serve, to be a servant. You need humility, to be able to go down to the lowest ebb, lowest level in human dignity and, most importantly, giving respect and dignity to our “clients”(the Poor & Needy, the Marginalized, the Homeless and those living on the fringes of society.
We refer to the people we help as our ‘clients’, our customers, our VIPs. “Customers are always right” as the saying goes in the business world – here, you get money/profit in the business world but in the Volunteer/NGOs & NGIs world, you get satisfaction, happiness and joy in serving that you can’t buy with money!
NGOs = Non-governmental organizations.
NGIs = Non-govermental individuals.
As volunteers are not paid, why do they want to serve?
Answer: The satisfaction on the faces of our clients makes us happy knowing that they enjoyed the simple buns/bread, the little food we gave them and also filling their stomachs at the same time to satisfy their hunger – they are happy and we are happier too!
You need to be there to capture these special “moments” – a little smile, a simple “thank you”, a gentle “salam”, a small “bow” and the beautiful look in their eyes that speak a thousand words that can only be “felt” in the hearts of volunteers like us – ‘eyes that speaks’!
I leave you with this story sent to me by one of our volunteers:
One minute film made by an Iranian film producer to create awareness regarding the problem of chronic hunger faced by the poor throughout the world.
“A poor father accompanied by his daughter, steals some bread from a store.
As soon as he turns to go, the shopkeeper stops him. The daughter unable to understand anxiously asks the father as to what had happened.
The father worried and disturbed opens his lips to apologise, but he hears the shopkeeper speaking to his daughter “My dear child, your father had forgotten to take back the change”. He then counts and places some money in the hands of the father, as if nothing has happened.
The father stepping out of the shop with head bowed down in remorse and helplessness hears a voice from a customer standing in the shop, silently witnessing the scene. “Brother you have also forgotten the bag of rice that you purchased, please take this.”
Feeding the hungry and helping the Poor and Needy, without hurting the dignity and self-esteem is a very great virtue in the sight of God, worthy of his Blessings and Grace in this life as well as in the life to come.
I too have many of my fair share of my personal experiences paying for countless number of people in shops/supermarkets where parents, especially with children in tow, have taken more than what they can afford, especially so with the kids talking whatever they want not knowing how much their parents have in their pockets.
As volunteers, we quietly pay for them, as if nothing has happened, and move on just like what were shown in this video – always giving dignity, respect, self-esteem and lve to our clients!
For those interested in our stories, hop on during our volunteering rounds to hear our real life stories!