This past weekend, I had the privilege of volunteering with a couple of friends in Brighton Beach, Brooklyn. This area was designated Zone A, and the reasons were obvious after Hurricane Sandy. Water levels were as high as five feet, flooding just about every basement in the neighborhood. Many families lived in these basements and now find themselves homeless. The streets were filled with their damaged belongings and valuables. Many just sat outside their homes trying to figure out what to do next. Clearly the water and food that we had to offer was not going to be enough. But when we offered it to them, there was such a sense of gratitude and appreciation.

One woman was tirelessly cleaning her basement when we arrived at her place. After we told her who we were and the few items we could offer her, she read off a list of other families in the area who needed the goods much more than she did. But she concluded by admitting, “In a few days, I may be in need of food and water.” The innocence was incredible. She passed  up an opportunity to store food
because she was conscious of others who were in more dire need at that very moment. Clearly she had no incentive to impress us. After all, we were complete strangers to her. Her concern even in such trying circumstances was inspiring.

The images on television were almost surreal. It was impossible to comprehend everything going on a couple of minutes from where I was. And yet these scenes could not truly reflect the damage done — waiting in a gas line for three hours, adding an hour to an already hour-and-a-half-long commute and getting stranded on the bus for hours all would have seemed like my worst nightmare.

However, today, as I experience this inconvenience with millions of other New Yorkers, I do it with a sense of relief. The opportunity to do service in Brighton Beach instilled in me a sense of appreciation. Being able to interact with individuals, see them eye-to-eye, talk to them face-to-face and hear their stories directly from them allowed it all to resonate. I started to get a sense of what it means for a diabetic patient to lose his medication. I started to get a sense of what it means to have a flooded basement. I started to get a sense of what it means to lose your house. You cannot simply change the channel on any of these problems.

There was plenty of warning for Hurricane Sandy, but it could not prevent billions of dollars in damages and the deaths of so many  innocent people. We cannot reverse the series of events that has plagued our city but we can rise together to alleviate its disastrous effects. This might require us to give up our weeknights or weekends, but it is a sacrifice that is worthwhile. We need to put in the work necessary to meet the bare necessities for those who were affected. It is really uplifting to see all the volunteer projects in place on a daily basis, and there will continue to be new efforts organized by different clubs on campus. It is incredibly valuable to help in whatever capacity you can.

A version of this article appeared in the Tuesday, Nov. 13 print edition. Muneed Syed is a contributing columnist. Email him at [email protected].