Once there was a poor family that lived in a village. It comprised a widowed mother and her two young sons. The father had passed away in an accident some months ago so the mother was striving hard to provide her kids with necessities.

Munaj was five years old and still could not understand and adjust to their new and troubling circumstances. While Naseem was only 12, but he had grown mature beyond his years in the few months since he had lost his father and understood how hard their mother was working to take care of them.

Eid was near. Being too young, Munaj was upset about not having new clothes and shoes, so he complained, “Mum, Eid is just a few days away, everyone is going to wear new shoes and clothes. All my friends have bought new things. When are we going to buy ours?” Munaj enquired.

The mother remained silent, and kept sewing the Eid clothes for other people to earn some money. She didn’t say a word, but wept silently in her heart.

Naseem replied, “I will give you my clothes, see I have these clothes that are just as good as new and I used to wear them when I was your age.” Naseem took out some clothes from an old trunk and showed them to his brother.

Munaj started crying and said, “I don’t need your clothes. I need new ones!”

“How do we make him understand that we can hardly manage something to eat, let alone buy new clothes,” Naseem said sadly.

“Dear son, don’t cry. We don’t have money right now, but we will go and borrow some money from your uncle. Are you happy now?” the mother consoled the younger one.

Munaj was happy to hear this.

“Our uncle is rich, but it doesn’t mean he will help us. I have already gone to him twice and every time he made excuses,” Naseem said.

Their uncle was a rich man and recently he had made a lot of profit. When Munaj and his mother reached his house he was found counting a huge amount of cash.

“Brother Shahbaz, my children don’t have new clothes and shoes for Eid. They are kids, still too immature to understand the harsh reality, I want to borrow some money from you. I will return it after I get the payment for the clothes I am stitching,” the mother humbly requested.

“Sorry sister, I invested all my money in my new shop and I did not get any profit. I had to borrow money from my friends to buy clothes and shoes for my children, from where can I give you money? This money is not mine, I have to give it to someone,” uncle replied quickly.

Tears filled up Munaj’s eyes. He couldn’t believe that his dear uncle had refused to help them. He then turned to his mum and told her that he didn’t want anything.

The mother sadly hugged her teary-eyed son and departed from there. Like every mother, she also wanted her children to enjoy Eid, therefore, she kept praying to God for help.

After returning home, the mother started stitching again while the boys pretended to play with their old toys, though they were too sad to enjoy anything. Suddenly, there was a knock on the door.

When the mum opened the door, she found some men standing outside. “Is this Muhammad Amir’s house?”

“Yes,” she replied.

“We are from an insurance company. Your husband took life insurance policy from us. We have come to give you the amount of five hundred thousand rupees. We need to see your CNIC as you have been named as the beneficiary by him.”

Munaj’s mum was stunned. After she completed the formalities and signed on various documents, one of the men handed her the cheque and wished her a happy Eid.

The poor family thanked God and the dear departed father for the help. They immediately deposited the cheque in the bank.

Next day, they took out some money and bought new clothes, shoes and food. The kids enjoyed their Eid a lot, although they missed their father very much.

On the third day of Eid, some children were playing in front of their uncle’s shop with firecrackers. Suddenly, the fire started and in no time, the shop got completely burned down.

Uncle Shahbaz realised that it was his punishment for being hardhearted towards his brother’s family and felt ashamed of himself. However, Munaj’s mum offered to lend him some money but Shahbaz was too ashamed to accept the help.

Barbara de Angelis once said, “Love and kindness are never wasted. They always make a difference. They bless the one who receives them, and they bless you, the giver.”

So let’s be helpers and help the poor and let no child cry in our country for their basic needs.

Published in Dawn, Young World July 15th, 2017