[MANNAM] The Art Of "Giving": Volunteerism

In Korea, you can have several kinds of side dishes in a restaurant, and one of the most common side dishes is Kong-na-mool Moo-chim (Seasoned Bean Sprouts). Every time I have Kong-na-mool Moo-chim it brings my mind back to my grandmother in my homeland.

When I was very young, my grandmother used to grow bean sprouts at home. Growing bean sprouts seems very easy, but it needs quite a lot of work. I remembered my grandmother put some soy beans in a jar, cover the jar with a cloth, and frequently water the bean sprouts. Even during sleeping time, she had to wake up and water them.

Whenever my grandmother watered the bean sprouts, the water flowed down through a hole in the bottom of the jar. I was very curious about it. I wondered why she didn’t close the hole before watering. In my opinion, watering in a jar with a hole is just labor in vein. What made me more curious was the bean sprouts grew so well though most of the water ran down. I asked her several times why she didn’t close the hole. Every time she answered that if there was no hole, the water could not flow down that all the bean sprouts would go bad. In short, all the bean sprouts would spoil without running water. Nevertheless, I couldn’t understand.

While partaking in many volunteer activities as a MANNAM International volunteer, I gradually think about volunteerism a lot. Still, many people think they may “lose” a lot through volunteerism and volunteer work is what only rich people can do. However, if you think carefully, you will find that what equals to “lose” is to “posses” but not to “give”. When water flows down, the bean sprouts grow well, while when they are with all the water, they  go bad .

MANNAM International is an organization where you can “flow down water” to those who need it. If you have talent of patience, you can play with children in the kids’ center. If you have a sense of humor, you can go to the nursing house and make elders laugh. In addition, if you have strength, you can go to clean the animal shelter. Through these volunteer activities, you can gain joy, which makes your life so meaningful and valuable. By doing volunteer work, you will not "lose". Instead, you will "gain" something really precious in your life.