| 'LITTLE STEPS' by Philipp Kappestein
"If many little people take many little steps in many
little places, they can change the world". - This sentence
had and still has a deep impact on my life.
Over the last few years I had a thought in my mind that started
to grow: God gave me so many gifts and blessings in my life
and I realized that it was a real privilege to have a family
that loves me, a roof over my head and enough food on my table.
I thought it was time to pass a little piece of that gift
to other people who are less privileged. I knew it was time
to leave my family and all the comforts of home in Germany
and to open myself to new experiences by working with the
least privileged in society – the poor. I wanted to
be part of a movement that strengthens, improves and changes
people’s lives. The Family Lifeline Volunteer program
(formerly The Little Sisters of the Assumption Volunteer Service)
gave me an opportunity to do so. When I read the mission statement
of the Little Sisters of the Assumption, I found it expressed
my own sentiments when it said, “We bring together the
least advantaged and the privileged in a spirit of family
to inspire everyone to participate in creating a just society.”
I wanted to be a part of this process of change in people’s
lives.
I started my work in September 2002 and it did not take long
before I realized that “change” is difficult to
identify. Change is something that is only visible if you
understand the “language of the little things.”
A smile means “thank you” and a handshake or a
hug can mean even more. Once you understand this language
you are able to see the fruits of your work. You are able
to see that people benefit from your work and you see clearly
that you benefit personally from your contact with the people
in your life. It seems unbelievable to me how much I changed
during my volunteer service over the last few months. I have
come to the realization that I am a small and yet vital part
in the whole process of change.
To work with homeless and low-income people has helped me
to appreciate so many things in my life. I now realize what
I should have realized long before my experience here: I can
no longer ignore the fact that we are one family and that
we are responsible for each other. We have to take care of
each other in a way that excludes no one. We can benefit from
each other and learn from each other in a way that I was never
conscious of prior to my service. Before I started working
at Project Hope in Dorchester, I considered myself to be a
socially conscious person, a person who was open minded and
who knew more than the average person about politics and social
issues. After a year of being in this program, a year of witnessing
the harsh reality that homeless people face each day, I have
to say that there was, and is, a lot for me to learn. Living
my daily life with people who are victims of a failed economic
system, coupled with a thorough investigation of the system
which oppresses them, has led me to better understand the
reality of poverty in a national, as well as, global context.
It has often been hard for me to see that I changed specific
things or the lives of people through my work, but it is quite
apparent that my work and my life as a Family Lifeline Volunteer
has changed me. I am very grateful for that and I consider
my experience a great gift. |
