Houston experienced one of the worst hurricanes in its history in 2017. Houstonians are not new to hurricanes; however, the devastation that Hurricane Harvey caused and the traumatic experience for the city’s residents have been etched in the minds of people. But, amid terror and tragedy, challenges and difficulties, we have reason to rejoice and to hope. Even as the hurricane lingered over the city, Sewa International could connect close to five hundred volunteers, starting rescue and relief work even as the skies continued to dump rain on the city. These individuals were dedicated, highly motivated, and worked selflessly round the clock.
In Houston, like in most other places in the US, houses are built out of wood, and with five to seven feet of water inside for days, the walls, furniture, and furnishings began to rot. They all had started getting moldy and needed clearing. The relief work ahead was massive and strenuous.
A team of Sewa volunteers went from house to house clean-up work. We did not look to come to the aid of merely our volunteers and supporters. For example, our volunteers focused on helping a distressed family, and they started their work with enthusiasm. A few minutes later, the house owner started directing our team in a very crisp language. He started taking them for granted and had a little disrespectful demeanor. The owner and their family did not assist our volunteers in cleaning up their house and had a bit of a "being wealthy" attitude. Our team had to leave in 30 mins, so the matter did not go further. However, the same family registered again for help on our forum, and we sent out a team to their place. This time they were helpful and realized that even with financial resources, no professionals were available or ready to do the kind of rigorous work Sewa volunteers were doing. They were very thankful for our support during such challenging times.
But the story does not end there. We invited all beneficiaries of our Hurricane Harvey relief work to our annual gala. Surprisingly, this particular family also attended the gala. They not only donated a handsome amount but appreciated all that Sewa volunteers had done selflessly. They moved from being skeptical/critical supervisors to being neutral, and finally to being a believer in the work of Sewa. The impact of forbearance and dedication always renders results.
When compassion and humility meet:
During relief work after Hurricane Harvey in Houston, our volunteers were working round the clock. A volunteer couple was on their way home after twelve hours of clean-up work post-flooding. Clean-up is physically strenuous work, and they were exhausted by the time. On their way back home, they got a call from one of the flood-affected families who needed immediate help to move out their refrigerator and other heavy appliances. Everything in there was rotten, and it was a health hazard to take out the contents. The couple advised them not to open the cold storage and wait for them to arrive. The people who called were ten miles away, but our volunteer couple decided to stop by. They reached the address, spoke with the family, and helped them get all the heavy appliances out of the house. By the time they finished everything, it was 9 pm. The family was so humbled that they even offered to buy dinner, but the couple was already late and wanted to get home as soon as possible. The family checked on our volunteer couple the next day, asking if they reached in time and had proper dinner after going home. For the first time, a distressed family got connected with them emotionally. The beneficiary family are now Sewa patrons and support the local Sewa team.
Sewa Covid warriors reached the unreachable:
Sewa International has been exceptionally active in India's COVID-19 relief efforts. We could see a sea of yellow helping people in need. Relief efforts under normal circumstances come naturally to all empathetic social volunteers; however, Sewa volunteers reached out to the last-mile villages in the Himalayan range of Uttarakhand. Reaching there itself was a big challenge, let alone taking relief material to these villages. Highly motivated our volunteers are, they hiked miles in hilly terrain with relief material to reach the remotest areas of the great mountain range. It is Sewa volunteers' unparalleled fearlessness that did the extensive and demanding tasks. They accessed the communities where only a few could reach.
-Anuja Deshpande
