I once did a year of voluntary service in a residential home for people with learning disabilities. was set in an English village deep in the countryside, quite different from my home in Sweden. One of my fellow volunteers, a girl from Tanzania, seemed a little unhappy, so I asked what the problem was. She told me she had a friend back home who had financial difficulties and maybe it was impossible for her to complete her university courses. So this friend of mine had sent all her money to Tanzania to support her friend! This meant that she didn't have much food to eat and no money to go anywhere outside the village. I was so touched and I felt I had to do something. So, during my next trip to one of the nearby towns I walked into a shop. I didn't have much money left myself but I thought I'd buy her an extra box of chocolate we both liked and some rice. I started talking to the woman(also a volunteer)working in the shop and eventually told her about my friend. The woman looked at me, amazed. "Does she eat pasta?" she asked. "Yes," I replied. She immediately started loading a bag with pasta, cookies, and other things until the bag was full. "Give her this for me. It's my treat!'' I couldn't believe it but accepted with happiness. As I left the shop to go home with my unexpected bag of food, I asked the woman her name. "Just Gloria," she said. Imagine my friend's face when I arranged the gifts on my kitchen table and fetched her from her room to see! I had never seen her so happy! A few weeks later she found Gloria in the shop and thanked her in person. These two extraordinary women really showed me what true kindness and compassion are, and the impression will stay with me for the rest of my life! Why did the girl from Tanzania seem a little unhappy?
Because she had to stop her voluntary work. Because she had no money to buy food or other things. Because she had spent all her money on food and clothes. Because her friend in Tanzania maybe had to quit school for lack of money.