Martin Luther King Day is one of the federal holiday celebrated in the United States of America. MLK day is celebrated to commemorate the life and achievements of Martin Luther King Jr. He was one of the greatest influencer and a great civil rights leader in American history. Martin Luther King Jr is also known for his work against the racism and brought an end to racial segregation in the US.
In US third Monday of the January is celebrated as MLK day. It is said that this day is also celebrated as his birthday. Lots of people do different things in the memory of Martin Luther King Jr. For example donation of food, clothes, or other stuff. Some institutions also teach about him and his struggles and achievements. One of the most common works or activities people do is volunteering. So I also decided to volunteer with 24th Annual MLK Day Grande Parade Houston.
I volunteering doesn't come to me just like that... it began when a very long time ago. But after coming to the US it has gained an acceleration.
July 10, 2017, was the day I flew to Houston, Texas - the US. For first few months life was different, everything was looking exciting as well as alien. I was happy that I was in the USA, but at the same time, I was nervous because I didn't know many things and anybody.
A few days later, we: the Houstonian, as I live here (I am a Houstonian), faced one of the major disasters in history. Hurricane Harvey showed me a different face of America and American. On one hand, the giant was helpless in front of the supreme power of nature, and on the other hand entire community came together to help and to work with each other to tackle this situation.
During Harvey, I realized no matter how big you are, or developed and powerful you are, you are nothing in front of the supreme power of the universe.
Well, let's talk about a little bit what Community College Initiative Program (CCIP) participant and I did during Harvey. As all our classes were cancelled due to Hurricane, for first few days we stayed at home and tried to adjust to that sudden unalarmed situations. Later, with the help of our Coordinator Lorin Banja, we started volunteering with American Redcross Society. During Harvey, all together we ( CCI participants from Houston Community College) volunteered for more than 650 hours and tried to serve as many people as we could. Last week I got to know that in last four months, all together (all 158 participants from 15 diffrent countries) we have volunteered for more than 16000 hours in different states of the US.
So far I have volunteered around 180 hours with different organizations like American Red Cross Society, Houston Foodbank, MBDA, Halo Houston 007 Gala, Indo American Chamber of Commerce Gala, Kids Lives matter and some cultural festivals.
Volunteering has not only given me the opportunities to serve our societies through different channels but also created a platform to enhance my communication and networking skills. I met large audience with different social and cultural backgrounds, right from the doctors, to engineers, to soldiers, to social workers, teachers, photographers, and many more. Volunteering had also lit up a flame of volunteering back in my country. I don't know how much I have volunteered back in India, but after completing this Community College Initiative Program when I will go back to India I will give at least eight hours in a week to volunteering.
Some of the highlighted points of volunteering from my CCIP friends:
"I feel so good because I can help people with changing the world: Raflyna - Indonesia
"Devoting part of your precious time to help people in need" Abdulrasheed - Ghana
" Helping community is a great opportunity to serve for the betterment of the communities, and that's why we volunteer" Sarosh Iqbal - Pakistan
"Volunteering has been a great opportunity for us because it helps us to collaborate with people who really need it" Miguel - Colombia
"It allows how to help the community of the Houston and make us feel like a part of the community here, with so people involving and helping the community that shows how good their hearts are" Habib - Ivory Coast
"Getting close to the society" Bhashkar - Bangladesh
"Volunteer is something very important in society. It teaches us how to care each other. We care we share" Sahrudin - Indonesia
"Volunteering for me is helping people. It's giving back to the community" David - Ivory Coast
"Happiness that is found in making other's happy" Seeta Kumari - Pakistan
Volunteering gives me the inner satisfaction that I can be helpful to someone. It is one of the tasks that I would love doing every day. When I volunteer I help myself grow stronger. It's a learning experience. I get to be a part of events and meet so many people. Kausar Ansari - India
"Volunteering is the desire and ability of someone to give their time, energy, and efforts towards a better income for the strangers and the well being of the community" Lorin Banja - our Coordinator
If you see all the above quoates and phrases, meanings and the purpose of volunteerring is almost same. And we all, the entire CCIP family belevies that we all should give few ours of our lives to our societies. It will work in two ways, one we will be helping our own community to work for its betterment, and will be exposed to an inner satisfaction.
I hope after reading this article you will feel the same as we do...
