Stories of Kindness from Around the World

I volunteer at a shelter that helps women and children who have been abused by their husbands or family by giving them a place to stay, food and counselling. It also tries to help them get back on their feet by helping them find a job. I go there  once a week to spend time with these women, usually just talking a being a friend and I also try to see if I can help them to get a job.

When I started helping out here I thought that these women would be the ones being helped. I didn't know that I would also be at the receiving end.

I have met so many women who have had the courage to live their lives, even after all the abuse they had gone through. I have seen mothers, who want their kids to have a better life, leave everything and go into hiding with their kids. There are so many strong, beautiful souls there. Looking at them I feel there is so much more for me to learn.

There is this one gal who is simply "sunshine". I met her two weeks ago and from the moment she was in the room, she just brightened it up. She makes everyone laugh with her ways and just by being so happy. She, like every other lady there, was abused and came to this shelter to hide from her husband. But, looking at her, no one would ever realise that she is going through so much pain. She is just so optimistic and happy and believes that everything will work out fine in the end.

Since my visits to this shelter I have learned so much. Whenever, I feel like complaing about my life, about things that I dont have or why am I not living the life that I think should be, then I start remembering all these ladies. When they got married, they didn't know that they would need to go into hiding from their spouses, they couldn't have imagined that they would go through so much pain.

And they did go through all that. But today, they are not sitting around being depressed. Instead they are moving forward. They are  trying to make things better for themselves and their children. They are  contented and thankful to God.

And they are still smiling.