The past few days have been rough for many, particularly people of color, anyone that directly or indirectly has been a victim of hate, family that has ever been affected by gun violence, or those who appreciate police officers who stay true to their oath to serve and protect and now face doubt from the public. Many of us have shed tears or felt a knot in our throats at the very least. These past few days have been enough to turn anyone into a pessimist. From the videos of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile getting shot and killed by police officers to the Dallas police shootings all within a 48-hour period, many of us may have probably put into question society’s sense of humanity.
“From the videos of Alton Sterling and Philando Castile getting shot and killed by police officers to the Dallas police shootings all within a 48-hour period, many of us may have probably put into question society’s sense of humanity.”
By Friday, I was exhausted of social media. I needed to detach. I had to shake it off and complete the tasks at hand for the day. So I went about my day like many of us did. At least, attempted to do so. I collected the last backpack donations for my Backpack Drive for children in my home barrio in Santo Domingo, Dominican Republic. Realizing that I had double the amount of donations compared to the previous year, I went to the store to get the biggest shipping box I could find. Went home to do the final count of backpacks, finish filling them up with school supplies and finally make them fit in the box in order to ship them off.
“By Friday, I was exhausted of social media. I needed to detach. I had to shake it off and complete the tasks at hand for the day. So I went about my day like many of us did. At least, I attempted to do so.”
Two rolls of shipping tape later and feeling like I had wrestled with a cardboard monster, I sat down next to the box full of backpacks. “Mission accomplished!”, I thought to myself but slowly the thoughts of all the recent terrible events began to creep up and occupy my mind again. However, as I sat next to this box full of backpacks and school supplies that colleagues, students, friends and family donated to be able to help children go back to school with a new backpack that otherwise their families would not be able to provide, I was reminded of LOVE.
This community service project reminded me that although there is a lot of hate in this world, there is an abundance of LOVE. This huge box of school supplies and backpacks symbolized a person’s compassion and generosity towards another human they have never met before. I do not know what to call that but LOVE. Love towards the believe that we all can make some kind of difference. In my eyes, GOD resides in all of our hearts. Yes! There are moments where humans let their hate overcome their LOVE. But as I looked at this box, I began to have faith that things are going to be ok because GOD resides in all of us and God is LOVE. Love always wins.
“This community service project reminded me that although there is a lot of hate in this world, there is an abundance of LOVE.”
For some, this box may seem as a miniscule gesture of kindness, but for those that have ever helped in some shape or form, it meant something special. Most importantly, it will mean a whole lot to the children that receive them because they will know that someone in another place, far away, there is another human that cares. I don’t know what else to call it but LOVE.
Forever grateful to those that have ever supported this project,
Anyiné “Angie” Galvan- Rodriguez
IG: @afrolatinanatural, @2cities1mundo
Twitter: @afrolatinacurls
AfroLatina Natural 