One of the local CARP chapters in Korça city, located in the south-eastern region of Albania, organized a service project called “You Have Great Value”. As is the case with many places all over the world, this city is home to many poor families who cannot afford food to feed themselves and who live in poor housing conditions.
As members of CARP Korça, they wanted to do something to help. They broke up into 3 groups and an engaged discussion ensued on what could be done to help these people. Finally, they came to the conclusion that a service project would be a great way to contribute to these poorer communities. They had done similar service projects in the past and through them, they’ve been able to support 6 families in total.
The main purpose of the service project was 1) To create awareness in young people about the sad reality in which many people have to live and to educate them to live for the sake of others. 2) To help and support poor people.
Before going out, there was a brief meeting with a presentation about people in history who invested in others and changed the world through their acts of service. Mother Teresa, Martin Luther King, Thomas Edison and Rev. Sun Myung Moon were a few of the people mentioned who did great work and invested in people. This was followed by a video presentation of the speech given by Charlie Chaplin, “The Great Dictator.” Some memorable quotes from his speech are, “I should like to help everyone. You are not machines. You have the love of humanity in you. You, the people have the power. The power to create happiness.” Through showing the participants this inspirational video, they were encouraged to do great things in life that will benefit the people of the world.
Each team then decided to collect money, clothes and food to support the poor families.
Fundraising Activity
For many of the participants, it was their first time going out to fundraise. “We were a bit worried because we know that it is not easy, but our worry was all for nothing. The participants were very much inspired and there was a sense of fulfillment and satisfaction on the faces of everyone. We once again experienced the wonder and power of investing in others,” explained one of the organizers.
Visiting Poor Families
“Each team visited one poor family and conveyed to them all the things we had gathered for them. Many of the families invited us into their humble homes and we sat together, listening to their situation and story. We were very touched by their stories. Many of their situations were situations that we could not have imagined. These experiences made us appreciate life on a deeper level and left us with many thoughts.”
Here are a few testimonies of participants on their experience doing the service projects:
“I know there are many poor people in the world. But it was very different knowing about it and actually seeing it with my own eyes. I was very shocked. It made me look back at my own life and reflect a lot. In one part of the world, people have an abundance of food, so much so that much of it is even thrown away and wasted. However,on the other side of the world, people are suffering because of starvation. Why is it so difficult for people who are wealthy to share with people who are not? I am very grateful that W-CARP gave me this great experience.”
“Through this activity, I understood that there are still many people who need help.”
After doing this project together, we became closer and deepened our relationship with each other. We understood that if we put into practice the words of our founder and True Father, “Live for the sake of others”, we can do a lot of good for others, but at the same time, we can also get great energy and happiness.
Check out these two videos about the service project:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z9iG8FaZ3h4
https://www.facebook.com/FFPBB/videos/1333499573333613/