Sacrifice - to give up something of value to you, for the betterment of someone else.
Each Monday night, Gold Coast charity organisation 'Walk with Us' hosts dinner for the homeless and disadvantaged at the Fradgley Hall in Burleigh Heads.
The On The Right Track program headed down to Fradgley Hall for their Community Service on Monday 12 August, to understand the true value of Sacrifice - giving up their time to help those in need.
As you may or may not know, our Kokoda Challenge Youth Program (KCYP) and On The Right Track (OTRT) programs do an element of Community Service to give back to the community that supports their growth and development.
Serving dinner to over 40 homeless and disadvantaged people from all walks of life, brought the realisation to everyone in attendance just how easy it is to fall into this situation.
The experience was confronting, overwhelming and also magical.
Upon speaking with one of the kids, he remarked "I feel so stupid for fighting with my mum over my phone and my shoes...some of these people don't even have shoes..".
Throughout the entire evening, the kids were urged to make conversation with at least one person, with the kids making good use of this opportunity.
They managed to speak to people who were once successful, made some not so good decisions and found themselves in a difficult situation. A gentleman that was once bashed by a member of the public whilst out one night so bad, that he constantly experiences seizures and can no longer work it is that debilitating. And those that have rebelled and found themselves on a path so far from where they want to be.
They learnt that sometimes life deals you with difficult situations and the decisions you make in that time can have a huge impact on your future, they learnt that you can end up in a very different situation to where they are now through the decisions of other people too.
The biggest take home was that there were shared hobbies and interests, and that hearing stories from the OTRT kids about those hobbies and interests brought them happiness and good memories.
Upon reflection of the experience, a number of the kids agreed that they take their current home situations, their dinner, their material belongings, even their education for granted.
Many smiles left the room with warmth as the kids helped in the pack down, knowing that if the oppportunity presented the kids would be more than happy to sacrifice their time for those more in need.