Community that matters, The Beauty of Closeness
By: Rtc Santo Tirso
Tags: Inspiration, Change The World, Social Impact, Rotaract, Community

The world is in constant change. What was new yesterday may be now a forgotten memory due to the fact that everything moves and disappears from our problem-filled minds at an exhilarating pace. Nowadays, we tend to isolate ourselves within our community due to the lack of time we experience.

Have you ever got home and felt like there was something missing? As if you did not cause enough impact, that you could have done much more during your day? Have you not questioned yourself about what you should be doing more in order to feel good and accomplished? If so, you better keep reading this.

We have lived in communities since the beginning of our existence. These form bonds and when these bonds are used for good, a feeling of unity is created. It is how the world started: together. Taking part in a group or association in your community and using what you are and what you’ve been taught over the years to help it may be one of the most powerful and difference-making weapons on our arsenal. The important question is: Are you making enough effort to actually create impact and to change your community for the better? If not, go ahead and do it. Be present, change the world and create change wherever you go.

In Rotaract, we tend to have this thought. Being present in our community is the most important thing for us. We want to feel that we are always close to our people, helping them whenever needed and making sure that we make a difference in their lives. We want to make them feel like they’re not lost or unwanted, and that they’re loved and important in our community.

This feeling is considerably noticeable when we visit ASAS or a nursing home. ASAS is an association that takes care of children that have been, or still are, exposed to family problems. When visiting, we tend to do several activities with them and there’s something that always gets me shook. Despite being exposed to these problems, these kids never seem to be unhappy. Their lives may not be perfect but they seem to end up making them more than just that, in their own way.

I remember one of the first times I visited ASAS. I wasn’t that much older than the kids there, which was probably why it was so important to me. Since that time, we’ve been making monthly visits, organising trips with them, celebrating important dates such as Halloween, Christmas and Carnival. For example, last Halloween we got them to cut and paint spooky masks so they’d wear in a parade here in our city and they loved it. It’s like I referred previously, we never feel the need to do crazy things all the time with them because we know that the simple things and the closeness between all of us can cause more impact than doing something extremely complex that would eventually bring no meaning at all to our and to their lives.

It is when we visit these kids that I get the feeling that this closeness is what brings us together. Something as simple as helping someone in need may make their day, creating undeniable bonds of friendship and love. It is this feeling that matters in a community. The feeling that we all got our backs, mutually. That we’re so close that it feels like we’ve known each other for years.

This proximity and mutual help is what turns the world into a better place. It is the beauty of closeness. It is what changes lives, and surely, it is the path we can and should all choose.

Francisco Andrade

Rotaract Club Santo Tirso, Portugal