Humanitarian Aid in Mexico
Most times when you hear about a humanitarian effort or a trip to provide aid, you hear about new schools being built, or providing access to clean drinking water, or immunizations against disease. All of those things are necessary. All of those things are important. All of those things help to promote change, growth, development and a strong sense of community. But they are not the only ways in which change and goodness can come to those in poverty. Sometimes, small acts of kindness can create big ripples of change.
Christine Reidhead has organized several trips to Mexico, delivering school supplies and toys to children in need, as well as helping a community celebrate Easter. The absolute joy on the faces of the children who received new pencil cases filled with school supplies that they otherwise would not have access to, or the utter excitement that they showed when they were handed brand new toy cars, or the Hawaiian leis that were distributed as a festive surprise is clear: small acts of kindness are just as important as grand humanitarian missions. Making a positive change, helping to provide happy memories to children and families who struggle with daily needs, is just as much an agent for change as building new facilities. Showing these children that there is hope and that there are kind, compassionate people in the world, can be just as life changing as larger efforts. Although the aid trips that Christine and her team of volunteers have taken haven’t been large scale, widely organized ventures, they have made large impacts within the communities that they have visited. Aid can come in many forms, and anyone can lend a hand.
Those children who received new school supplies might be having the best year in the classroom because of that act of kindness. They may be inspired to reach for their academic dreams, because someone showed them that education is important. That education can be fun. Those who received new toys may go on to pay that kindness forward in their lives. They might start their own charity someday, inspired by the good will that was shown to them. It may spark a flame of altruism in their hearts. The bottom line is that no act of kindness is too small, and help comes in many forms. Change happens in lots of ways, and Christine and her team are agents of such change.
To find out more about the past trips to impoverished areas in Mexico, and to see the photos and videos, visit christinereidhead.com. Learn how you can become involved, whether that is by donating towards the next trip, organizing a toy or school supply drive, or actually travelling to Mexico with the team. Every little bit counts, and no act is too small.