How to make a difference in Ramadan

We make a living by what we get, but make a life by what we give. — Winston Churchill.

The Holy Month is about self-reformation and abstention from the luxuries of life. It gives you a taste of the life led by those who aren’t as privileged as to buy themselves three square meals and sympathise and empathise towards them. So take this opportunity to give, whole-heartedly and wilfully, while appreciating the blessing that life is.

It is all about taking baby steps. You cannot expect to become a philanthropist overnight just in the Holy Month of Ramadan. However, you certainly have the power to make a small difference that may lead to a greater good. So this week, I am going to recommend some really simple and doable deeds that you should do every day for a week.

Carry five boxes of Iftari in your car daily and distribute it to whomever you feel needs it the most. You could either (preferably) cook the meal yourself or buy it from outside and package it well to make it a proper Iftar meal. If you know any of the underprivileged families, you can give it to them. Or else you could just drive to the villages and go door-to-door distributing meals.

Go out with your friends and family and plant at least one tree every week. Having recently celebrated the World Environment Day with the motto of which this year was connecting people to nature, it is important to value the gift that trees and greenery are and preserve it for the betterment of the world. Make sure you take a child along while doing it in order to instil such values and explain to him/her the benefits of having trees around.

Keep away your phones and laptops and every other electronic gadgets and strengthen your interpersonal relationships. Make time to visit your relatives and spend more quality time with family and friends. Learn about their past, ask them for their whims and desires, and make a mental note to fulfil at least one of them at some point soon.

Distribute the books that you think have added value in your life among children and try to instil the habit of reading among them. You can even go to a few villages and hold book reading sessions for whoever is interested and spend some time with the children from villages. —[email protected]