HOW TO BE SUPPORTIVE IN LIFE: 10 SIMPLE STEPS - GEOGRAFÍA - 2024

Being supportive implies caring for the welfare of others and making the choice to act and collaborate to achieve it. Solidarity is assuming the cause of others as your own, existing on a personal, political and social level. Unfortunately, in these times, we live thousands of social conflicts and wars as a result of social inequalities and lack of freedoms.

Despite living in the 21st century, and having sufficient resources for all the people of the world, not all people have them, and for this reason we must contribute to the distribution as citizens that we are.

We are used to being filled with solidarity in our souls on certain dates such as Christmas, in which we all pour ourselves out with family and friends, and on some occasions our hearts soften and we give something to the people who live on the street, but what about the rest of the year? What happens that rest of the year? Don't people still live on the street, going hungry, cold, calamities, social exclusion, among other things?

Well, having said that, taking into account that we are more than 7,000 million people in the world, putting all our grain of sand we could achieve a lot.

10 Steps to be supportive throughout the year

1. Make solidarity contributions

In each city there are a lot of solidarity projects with which you can contribute, either in a specific way because it catches you in the middle of the street, or permanently -associating or committing yourself- to contribute a fixed amount as happens with sponsorships.

An interesting fact for the most distrustful are the comfortable forms of payment that currently exist. In them you can do the paperwork from home through the internet thus avoiding donations in hand (which may worry you if they do not reach their destination).

2. Sharing, happiness is double

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Luckily, there are many ways to help those people -who due to circumstances- today live on the street, or in shelters.

For those who can afford it, a great option is to make a double purchase. That is, one for you and one for a disadvantaged person or family. What better help than the food itself?

Another option - on a smaller scale - but very significant is pending coffee. Pending coffee is nothing more than leaving an extra coffee paid in the cafeteria for someone who does not have the resources to pay for it.

In this way, even a person without resources can have something hot throughout the day. This measure of pending coffee became popular in the Italian city of Naples, and has subsequently spread to other areas of the country and Europe.

3. Contribute what you can

Many of us - although we do not want to admit it sometimes - we have spare clothes in our closet. We accumulate and accumulate garments that we do not throw away out of pain, or simply out of laziness, and they are piled up without using it. What's more, many times we don't even know what they are still doing out there because we thought we had already thrown them away.

There are many NGOs and solidarity campaigns that are responsible for collecting used clothing that we no longer want. Often times, these clothes are in perfect condition and can be sold in second-hand stores, raising cash for solving social problems.

The largest percentage of these garments go to small African merchants to revive the local economy. Another important percentage of the clothing we donate is worn out, or unusable, so it is recycled through specialized companies.

The NGOs and other organizations that participate in solidarity projects do a task as hard as it is useful for society.

Donating clothes is one of the most viable options for people who, although they do not have many resources, and can collaborate by offering things that they no longer need or use.

Another option is to donate books that you don't read, or that don't interest you too much, and deliver them to solidarity bookstores where the proceeds go to social projects.

4. Participate by offering your time

To help there are no excuses if you really have the will to do so, in the event that you do not have material goods to contribute, or money to donate, there is always the option of physically collaborating by offering your time as a volunteer in campaigns such as those to collect food.

If your situation allows it, you can collaborate regularly with an NGO that works with people who need it, such as the elderly, children, the disabled, or people at risk of exclusion.

As well as any type of financial contribution they need affection. These people sometimes have serious emotional and communication deficiencies. Just by staying by her side, listening to her, and understanding her, you'll already be doing a great job. Having a distraction that makes them forget for a moment the situation they are in will thank you.

5. Conveys the importance of collaboration

The fact of attracting more collaborators is as important as the collaboration itself. Many people are willing to collaborate, but they need that push to make them decide.

That push can occur as a result of a shocking photo, or a hard story that makes them consider the cruelty of the world, and decide to collaborate.

For this reason, it is very important to raise awareness through social networks with messages that can become viral and attract a good number of people.

Tell your circle of friends what you do, how they can collaborate, and all the information to make them see how important this humanitarian aid is. Sometimes you to you can attract quite a few people.

6. Create your own charity campaign

If you are a person of determination and people skills, surely you may be able to mount your own charity campaign. This can be done through a simple market in your city, or in your neighborhood if you prefer.

Dealing face-to-face with people you have known your whole life will surely help you in social works of these characteristics.

In addition, you should not give too much importance to the object you sell, more than likely the people who buy you will not need it, but they will still want to collaborate.

7. International volunteering

In case the help at the national level seems little to you, you can always face a challenge like the one that involves going to a foreign country.

International volunteer programs are ideal for living unforgettable experiences that will harden you more than any other activity as a person.

The issue of availability will not be too inconvenient since they are made in the vacation periods of the participants.

It is a great sacrifice to lose a vacation with your friends or your family in order to help people who need it, but surely, upon arrival you will not regret having done it. The emotions and experiences acquired will make you the best version of yourself when you return.

There are different NGOs and cooperatives that offer this service nationally and internationally. Most of the Spanish projects have been developed in Africa and Latin America, but more and more areas are being actively collaborated.

8. Solidarity encompasses the environment

Not all solidarity is restricted to the field of people. It seems that we have forgotten that we are only human persons, and we live on a planet called earth that is being polluted day by day beyond its means.

Although there is no doubt that the major polluters are companies, we must all contribute in the least that can be done, which is recycling.

The aforementioned collection of clothes and the donation of objects can also be included as recycling. These offer the possibility of raising funds or simply being repurposed. This contributes to the better use of resources and the preservation of the planet.

9. Donation of blood, marrow, and organs.

Faced with health problems, financial resources or volunteering can do little. There are more and more blood donors, and it is great news, but things get complicated with more serious circumstances such as bone marrow or organ donations.

It goes without saying, but any help is little when it comes to a person's health.

Fortunately or unfortunately, not everything comes down to money, and things like health cannot be bought, so they depend solely and exclusively on the altruism and good faith of another person.

But to be able to carry out this solidarity it is necessary to let go of fear and insecurities. The fear of hospitals holds us back from participating in actions of these characteristics that can save lives.

In matters such as bone marrow transplantation, there is great ignorance. Many associate it with the spinal cord, but they are different things. The bone marrow is the fatty and soft tissue found within the bones, and the spinal cord runs the length of and into the spinal column protecting it.

To find out where to collaborate, you can sign up for the Spanish Volunteer Platform. It has a search engine for face-to-face volunteering, with offers from NGOs classified by area and location, and a map of volunteering with the closest organizations where you can collaborate. There are also directories of demands for volunteers at voluntariado.org and hacefalta.org.

Tips to be supportive

Solidarity is not something that necessarily involves linking with people who are homeless, starving, or survive in terrible conditions. Solidarity is something daily, between people who are in our same situation.

Some tips to be supportive every day:

Be a support

If a friend, relative, or someone you care about has a problem and decides to share it with you, listen carefully and show signs of concern that will make them feel better.

You can also advise him, and give him your point of view. You don't have to downplay his problem, just help him cope, see that you are in this together.

Be patient

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Most of the time, the process of recovering from illness, injury, or personal problems can take a long time. What we must do with these types of people is not to worry them and not pressure them, be patient in their recovery.

Take something positive out of the crisis

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A crisis in any area of ​​our life is quite scary, so we always have to get something positive out of even the worst thing that has happened to us.

When a person is in this moment, the vision of a person outside the situation, and who is loved, can be very valuable. Make him see the bright side of things.

Be in solidarity with yourself

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Throughout our lives there are many disappointments with other people whom we loved but who - due to circumstances - we no longer love. There are also many wounds that have taken their toll on us over the years, but we almost always know how to forgive them.

On the other hand, with ourselves we have another measuring stick, we are much tougher and cruel, we give a thousand turns to the things we did and that we can no longer change. So forgive yourself.

References

1. http://www.fcarreras.org/es/transplant
2. http://www.fundacionmelior.org/
3. https://www.walkalong.ca/friends/support
4. http://www.solidaritycenter.org/
5. http://www.solidarityssudan.org/how-you-can-help/
6. http://www.caritas.org.au/about/who-we-are