The Energizing Effect of Helping Others

Do you know that the Kapatiran-Kaunlaran Foundation Inc. (KKFI), formerly the Methodist Social Center, is the longest-running social development-oriented non-government organization in the country?

It was founded in 1950 by Ms Madaleine Klepper, an American missionary, because of her compassion to feed and provide shelter for the orphaned children and widowed wives and mothers after World War II.

Many NGOs came and went through the years. Their number mushroomed after the so-called EDSA Revolt late ‘80s and 90s, when the international funding agencies felt the compulsion to aid a society that suffered from a decade-and-a-half of dictatorship and economic oppression.

But the wind of the global funding for civil society changed from the Philippines towards elsewhere, resulting in the weakening and inevitable demise of many NGOs.

But God blessed KKFI. It has not demonstrated any symptom of fading.

At 69, it still possesses the energy and unfathomable faith to experiment new ways of doing things, to step out of its comfort zone, try out-of-the-box methods of doing things, to blaze the trail for others to follow, and to try again when things fail. Doing these things does not sound old to me.

It looks to me that KKFI is still youthful and, in fact, growing up. Only the young dares to tread untried paths. Only the young has the attitude to make that leap of faith and the stamina to pick itself up when it falls, face first, to the ground. At 69, KKFI is still young.

Perhaps, KKFI discovered the fountain of youth and it drinks from it every day. That explains why it is still vibrant. And I dare to guess what this fountain of youth is. It is… helping others.

Indeed, helping others is energizing. Every time KKFI does it, it is invigorated. That is why every time a pre-school student receives a medal for excelling in a subject or an ALS student is able to pass the equivalency test or a livelihood workshop participants expresses confidence in making a living because of his or her new skill, KKFI seems fueled to do more.

Let us give our best clap offering to God for giving KKFI and the members of the Day-C the wisdom that comes with age and the dynamism in spite of age.