Humanity

Rahul Salagame , 4th Grade
Sunnyvale CA
Carden Academy

We need change! Well, people talk about ending poverty or war or giving money to charity. These things are fine; but I wanted to do something that was within my reach. I wanted to do something that I could see and feel. Could a nine year old change the world? I was not so sure about that.

One day, my mom was packing away all my old toys to save in the garage. I asked her why she was saving my old toys. She said “These have sentimental value. They remind me of your childhood and that is why they are precious.”

I kept thinking about why my mom had said and then an idea truck me. I told her that I would like to give away all my used toys to under-privileged kids. The same toys that made me happy could make other kids happy too. Let’s face it, kids just love toys. I knew it was just a drop in the bucket, but I still wanted to do it. There were lots of toys so it took some time to get prepared and sort out the toys. I got some empty boxes from the garage and started filling them up with my toys. My mom was watching me and now she started panicking!

She was saving my toys for keepsake. I told her she would always have me at her side. I convinced her to take me to the orphanage close to our home. She agreed reluctantly.

When we reached the orphanage, me and my mom were both nervous. We did not know what to expect as none of us had done this before. The lady at the orphanage was very helpful. She guided us through the right channels. She said that I should hand out the toys to the kids myself .We arrived in a room full of little kids. They were a noisy bunch. When they saw me and my mom, they became quiet. They all sat down and sort of waited for us. Their eyes sparkled and they looked questioningly at us wondering why we were there.

I started handing out the toys one by one. Each kid walked up to me and took the toy from me. All the kids were happy. One American kid walked back to me. I had given him my radio-controlled car. He gave me a warm hug. That made me feel so good. I have never been hugged by a little kid before as I am the only kid in the house. He even called me Santa, but let’s just keep that between you and me. He did not care that I was Asian.

The whole incident made me think that giving back to our community is such a simple change. It is a change in our way of thinking. It is a change in our way of living. It is a change that is achievable.

So, if there is one thing in this world to make it a better place, it would be to change the way people think about giving. I would like to plant the seeds of humanity in people’s minds. IF I can do it in my community, and other kids do it in their community, then little by little the whole world would change. WOW! That change would be immeasurable.