No Age Barrier To Be A Good Samaritan
In earlier times, it was only armed men and knights men that were meant to protect the weak and the needy. This was because in those times, people faced problems collectively and that mainly included those around wars and violence. But, nowadays, this trend has seen some changes. Now, not every warrior is armed, not all problems include violence. In this changing and modern era, we have individual problems as well and those who help us in those times become a true warrior for us. Therefore, any act of bravery can now come from any person in the public, and that does not necessarily mean to be an army man only. Small and little acts of bravery can be done by general people as well and it is this changing fact of helping others and being a warrior from the heart, has led to the coming up of a new word i.e. Good Samaritan. A good Samaritan is anyone who is helpful and charitable and is ready to help those in need, even if they haven’t ever met before. It is these people and their smallest acts of a good deed that make us believe more in humanity and help us to lead a happy life socially as well.
One of the recent examples of such a Good Samaritan is a 12 yr. old boy Venkatesh from Karnataka.
As we all must be aware after the political turmoil in July, the state of Karnataka faced a natural calamity in August wherein heavy rainfall resulted in massive floods. In total 61 people got killed and 15 people went missing as almost 22 districts of the state got affected. Even though the IMD issued a Red Alert, the coastal areas and the Malnad districts saw the wrath of the rains. Heavy rains also led to landslides in places like Chikkamagalur, Kodagu etc. and affected the national as well as state highways that led to disrupted connectivity.
In such conditions, any smallest act of help can be equaled to be a sign of God. And Venkatesh went on to display his act of kindness in such severe conditions as well and showed the world that such acts of bravery can be done by anyone of any age and thus be a Good Samaritan. In a viral video recorded by a local man in Karnataka, we can easily see that the 12 yr. old boy Venkatesh, helped show the way to the hospital for an ambulance carrying children and the body of a woman. Risking his own life and ignoring words of caution from people around, we see Venkatesh running across neck-deep waters to guide the ambulance the correct way towards the Hospital. According to the news reports, the ambulance had stuck when it tried to cross a flooded bridge and that is when the driver asked Venkatesh for his help. As Venkatesh was familiar with the area, he didn’t seem to have any second thoughts on his decision and went ahead running and swirling across waters to help the ailing people in the ambulance.
Venkatesh’s act ignited a ray of hope among the young and the old as well, that bravery and kindness still exist in this world, whatever the age of the person might be. It is these tough times when people need support and Venkatesh’s help, many believe, could inspire several others to do such selfless acts in testing times. On the occasion of 73rd Independence Day, Venkatesh was felicitated by Raichur’s district Deputy Commissioner for his act of bravery.
From mainstream media to social media, his kindness was highlighted and Venkatesh became a hero at such a young age. Thus, this extra-ordinary story taught us many things and especially reminded us that goodness exists in all ages and in all parts of the world.
However, it is not always necessary for everyone to be so courageous like Venkatesh. Also, not every act of bravery and support comes during such harsh times only. In normal conditions also, we as general human beings can show the minimum possible support that we can. This can include a variety of things that we can do. And this can range from as small an act as lending money to someone who has lost wallet and as big as helping the victim of a road accident by taking him/her to the hospital. Apart from this, in our day to day routine also, we can be a Samaritan and lend a hand to anyone who is suffering. Therefore, it is not always that a large scale problem will surface for you to showcase your bravery and good intent. You can do that every day and in fact every time possible. All it needs is a little bit of courage and confidence in being a good and responsible human.
