Friday 19 / April / 2024
“I love helping people, and it’s my passion to try and help in whatever way possible. I feel that when one is blessed with so much, then one must give to society whenever, wherever, and whatever way possible, no matter where you are living or which country you are residing in,” says Jacinta Machado, a wife and mother who has been involved in social services and charities in Oman.
Jacinta has lived in Oman for 27 years and in those years she has not missed any opportunity to help and reach out to those in need, not just in Oman but back home in India, too. “I love helping orphans and slum children as they are the ones who need all our love and support the most,” she said, recalling the time she spent with slum children in India and distributing pencil boxes to a foundation back home.
Recently, she has been actively supporting and helping Nasr Al Jadhami, the man who personally transported 55 tonnes of aid to famine-stricken Yemen during the Oman Yemen Ramadan Relief Campaign. “I volunteered to pick up food and clothes from friends and contacts, and handed it over to Mr Nasr,” she noted. Jacinta has also tried to help those who she thought were in need of supplies, cash, or just some love and attention.
“I have been distributing water, juice, biscuits, chips, and napkins to workers here, and going with friends and distributing them at random to workers along road projects and construction sites at different places. Items are donated by friends and myself.” She has also been an active member of different groups and NGOs, both in Oman as well as in India and Africa that make it a point to help those in need. “I participated in the Toys for Children Campaign for children suffering from cancer at the Royal Hospital,” she said.
She has also helped in providing goody bags to blue collar workers. “I volunteered to pick up from members (of a facebook group) and friends and was solely responsible for the distribution and reporting of this awesome campaign, which received a huge response,” she added. Her sons Randall and Ronan, following their mother’s footsteps, have also been involved in a lot of initiatives she has been a part of.
“My younger son helps to load stuff into my car whenever needed and the older one helps in transporting stuff,” she said, mentioning an initiative in which she and her group managed to deliver ‘‘7 truckloads of kindness and generosity’’.
“I am a big fan of Mother Teresa and, like she said, if each one serves one, then our world will surely be free of poverty, in time to come. We, in Oman, are blessed with one of the best infrastructure and facilities, thanks to His Majesty Sultan Qaboos bin Said. However, there are places and people who need our assistance here, and in neighbouring countries, and it will be great if we, who are capable of helping, come forward to help whenever, wherever and whatever way possible,” she said, urging people in Oman to come forward and help others. —[email protected]
