He munched his breakfast cereal topped with some pumpkin seeds and fresh strawberries, quietly and quickly. The cereal had only been soaked in cold milk for just a short while because he liked them still crunchy. He didn’t like his cereal soggy and always tried to finish them before they reach that state of mushiness. Plus, he liked his milk cold too. It refreshed him as he took each bite.
Today, the morning felt colder than usual. It rained quite heavily a few hours earlier and he could still hear light raindrops as they landed on the windows. Although he welcomed the rain while he was comfortably home but he couldn’t help but think about those who were not.
There were a few extra bags today and he made sure he bought a little more for each item because he noticed last week that there was a new family who arrived. He packed in some raincoats too in every bag as the days were getting wetter with the rainy season approaching. But who knew about weather these days; which was getting more erratic. Climate change was real and there was no point denying it anymore. Stupid politicians.
After breakfast, he washed his bowl before setting it to dry on the rack. The morning was still dark but it was a good time to leave. He got ready, and moved the bags into his car. He started the engine, closed the door and reversed the car. Quietly, he locked the gate and drove his car out to the main road from his housing area. The timing would be just right, dropping by before he drove to work.
The road was wet and in some places, flooded too. He thought about the families in the village. It was a new village, built by volunteers early this year to help those who lost their jobs, their homes during the pandemic due to unpaid loans.
The houses were simple and they could only cater for a few families, chosen by the committee based on a first come, first served basis. On the day they opened the registration, it was closed within ten minutes due to overwhelming applications. Many people needed help but they could only help that many.
He got to know about the village from two of the volunteers whom he got to know from a friendly game of football. They mentioned that it was hard to sustain without help from the public donations.
While they helped the breadwinners find jobs, the families still needed to go through each day with food and basic necessities. He asked about the families there, the number of, their needs and that night, when he got back, he started planning.
Every week, he would arrange a day to deliver a bag of basic necessities such as rice, flour, eggs, fresh vegetables and fruits, some canned food for the families to get by. Occasionally, he would add sauces, toothpaste, toothbrush, diapers, sanitary pads and detergent. He tried to be as discreet as possible and would leave the bags at their doorsteps before sunrise on his way to work.
He left no note, just the bag of items. He felt there was no need to broadcast or to tell anyone because it was his personal wish to help and he was not asking for anything in return. There was a level of insincerity when one boasts about the help they give; he felt and that made him questioned the actual intent of the person helping in the first place.
Sometimes, his volunteer friends gave updates about the families were happy and grateful beyond words to see bags of food stuffs and toiletries left at their doorsteps by an unknown person, and that itself was enough for him.
