Kalisum is one of ARC’s volunteers in Bidi Bidi Refugee Settlement. And all day long, she works at a community help desk, talking with refugees – mainly women – about what they’ve gone through. About what they need. About how she can help.
Sometimes, Kalisum can help these people right away, and sometimes she can’t. And when it takes a while to get the resources that someone might night, she feels badly. She doesn’t want them to leave empty handed – she wants them to know that she cares.
So Kalisum had an idea. What if after a meeting with a mother, father, or family, she gave them a special treat to take home? Just a small gesture of goodwill and kindness? That, she thought, could make all the difference. So for Day 74, we’re getting Kalisum some candy.
Candy is difficult to find in Bidi Bidi – so a sweet treat is a luxury. It can put a smile on someone’s face, which is especially meaningful for women who have been through so much heartache.
Once the ARC team tracked some candy down, they gave it to Kalisum to keep at her help desk. And now, even if she can’t help a visitor right away, she feels like she has given them something. “They will know that we have love for them,” she said.
The piece of candy is small, but the offer is almost an olive branch – it shows that we’re in this together. That we’re thinking about what might make you happy, what might make you smile.
It’s amazing how one little change can alter how you work – how you feel about your job. “I’m very excited because this makes a good relationship between me and the refugees,” Kalisum explained. “Because even the children, they will have a good memory from coming here.”
