Shalini Sampat

“No Greater Contentment
The volunteering bug bit me young. While over the years I have tried to bring a smile to nameless and faceless folks, nothing has been more fulfilling than being a COVID warrior and a teacher.
It all began in April last year when I signed up to volunteer with an NGO in Bengaluru working for COVID relief. During my three-month stint, I was involved with the blood and plasma team catering to desperate pleas of help coming from across the city.
While there were folks running pillar to post looking for any way to save their near and dear ones, there were also good Samaritans coming forward to help in every way.
This experience, has strengthened my faith in humanity to work as a joint force in the face of adversity. As a woman I felt my heart swell with pride, when people acknowledged the efforts that I was putting in.
When I helped save a life, I could only thank God for giving me the opportunity to be where I was. In a nutshell, if there is true contentment anywhere it is in the service of others.
My second stint was in November last year, when I volunteered with Kotak Education Trust under the programme name-TSEP Unnati 2021 to conduct online spoken English classes for young girls from Mumbai slums.
I was paired with a shy second year college student from Kalyan.In my first call,I was greeted to her modest home,but could feel the warmth emanating from her.
Over the course of three months, I couldn’t be happier when she graduated from speaking shaky words to complete sentences.
On the last day,when her parents showered their blessings on me, I felt my gurudakshina was paid in full.
I feel contended to have been able to give a leg up to a young woman, set out to achieve her dreams.
May the sky never be the limit for any woman!
As Mother Teresa rightly said “The greatest good is what we do for one another”.”