Last year, Joan and I decided to “adopt” a World Vision kid. His name is Honeyval, a third grader from Visayas. The program helps the children by providing support for their education. Our contribution will eventually go to buy Honeyval’s uniform and school supplies. World Vision gave us his picture together with a short profile. He also wrote us a letter thanking us for our support.

This endeavor made me feel that I was helping others and really doing my part to give back to the community - at least for a couple of months. Soon, I realized that it wasn’t enough. I know the 5K+ contribution a year is a bit small considering both Joan and I contributed to it. But what I’m referring is more than just the monetary value of our contribution. Heck, it’s easy to donate 1M to charity given enough resources. More than just the number of zeros your write in the check, helping others is about taking a part of yourself and freely, though oftentimes hard, giving it to those in need. I believe true charity cannot be achieved without some degree of self-sacrifice.

Now, I don’t really feel that I am not genuinely helping Honeyval. I feel that I’m just doing this so that at least I can say to myself that I am helping others. A way of tapping my own shoulder to remind me that I’m doing a noble act but deep inside I know that I’m only fooling myself. Reaching out to those in need means getting your hands dirty. Offering not just your money but also exerting effort and most importantly, giving up your precious time.  Sacrificing a bit of yourself makes the effort meaningful. With compassion comes sacrifice. With sacrifice comes charity. With charity comes fulfillment. And with fulfillment comes happiness.