while returning home in a rickshaw, I asked the driver, “Brother, do you have children? If you don’t mind, can I give them some clothes?”

 

Yesterday, while returning home in a rickshaw, I asked the driver, “Brother, do you have children? If you don’t mind, can I give them some clothes?”

He replied, “Yes, madam.”

I said, “Come inside the house, sit on the sofa, and I’ll bring the clothes for you.”

But he remained standing outside. When I noticed, I told him again, “Brother, please sit down and see if any of these clothes will be useful for your children.”

He sat on the sofa, trembling—perhaps he even had a fever.

I then said, “You seem cold. Let me make you a cup of tea.”

As soon as he heard that, tears began to roll down his cheeks. He said:

“No, madam. I have been driving a rickshaw since I was a child. Never before has anyone treated me with such respect. And these clothes you are giving us are not ordinary clothes. These are the kind of clothes people wear to family gatherings and weddings. I will come back in two weeks, and then my children will wear them. May God bless you abundantly, madam.”

Hearing those words made my heart heavy, and it gave me a new perspective.

What do you think, friends?

Helping a living person in need can be more meaningful than offering donations to a lifeless stone in a temple, mosque, church, or gurdwara. Kindness and compassion toward people around us can make a real difference in someone's life.