Cynthia Fernandes
Fri, Apr 11, 2008 at 5:51 PM
To: goa.kranti@gmail.com
How Cynthia turned her life around to help others in need
Seven years ago, Cynthia Fernandes' husband abandoned her, leaving her with a mountain of debt and two young children to look after. A few weeks later, she lost her job.
Broke, jobless and emotionally bruised, she turned to friends and family for help. HELPING HANDS For months, she and her two children lived on charity collected by friends through church donations, while her two brothers helped her clear her financial dues.
The 48-year-old says those were the darkest days of her life. 'My cross was really heavy to bear,' she says.
'But I promised my brothers I would pay them all back to the last cent.' It took her two long, difficult years but she did repay all her debts. Cynthia also set out to fulfil a promise she made to herself while putting her life back together – that she would do all she can to help others in need.
'I was so grateful. I know what it is like to be helped when you need it the most,' she says. 'And I wanted to reach out to people who were in similar circumstances.' In no time, Cynthia had built a network of people, some offering help, some needing help, solely through word-of-mouth. From financial appeals to prayer requests, she was soon sorting out and matching appeals to offers.
'In a short time, I had a database of more than 1,900 e-mails,' she says. 'Every day, when I come home, I begin sending out these e-mails. I know there is always someone who will be able to help one way or the other.'
Binaifer, whose has chosen not to reveal her family name, counts her blessings for getting acquainted with Cynthia earlier this year. The 45-year-old says she was devastated when her husband suffered a massive stroke in 2005 and fought for his life in ICU for five months. What was even more upsetting, she says, was being deserted by her immediate family in her hour of need. For three long years, Binaifer, then a housewife, struggled alone to pay growing hospital and medical bills. All their savings were running out, while her husband was still recovering and unable to get back to work.
'I met Cynthia through a friend and she volunteered to do whatever she could to help,' she says.
'After she sent out her emails, people started calling in and offering help. Some visited us and gave us whatever they could.' The mum-of-two from India says Cynthia is a hero in many ways.
'We were deserted by family and friends when we needed them the most. Nobody wants to be burdened with a sick person,' she says. 'But because of Cynthia, so many people have come together to reach out to people in need.' Emirates Today reader Chantelle De Souza wrote in to nominate Cynthia as this week's Unsung Hero.
'In a city like this where many people are self-centred, here is a woman who goes out of her way to help people,' she says. 'We need more people like her.' Cynthia, who hails from Goa in India, says her e-mail database contains a mix of people and help is requested for anyone in need, regardless of race or nationality. From someone wanting to give away furniture to someone looking for some, or someone in search of a tailor or even how to get homemade food delivered, the network is growing.
But one of the most endearing attributes of her e-mailing network is the constant stream of requests for prayers, says Cynthia. HUGE REQUESTS 'We get all sorts of requests. If someone is going for a job interview or someone is sick or even going to get a licence, they e-mail me and I send their prayers out,' she says. 'And it is always such a good feeling to know when prayers are answered.
'There was a lady who had an autistic child who liked to play with musical keyboards and balloons. After I sent out a request, someone donated a Casio keyboard and a big box of balloons.' Blood donor requests are regular appeals as well, says Cynthia. And it helps when there is a rare blood type urgently needed to save lives.
Cynthia, who works as a site secretary with a Dubai-based architectural firm, says her two years spent repaying debts and living on others' kindness made her resolve to spend all her spare time in assisting those in need. 'I do this because it gives me the greatest pleasure of my life to see a smile on their face especially when they say 'you will be blessed abundantly for what you have done',' she says. 'I want it to be low-profile because it is not right to make a big show of yourself.' The intrepid helper says she personally checks all appeals and requests for help before sending them out to her contacts. 'I need to know whether the help requested for is real because all the people in my list trust me,' she says. 'I want to reach out to more people. As long as I can help them, I will help them and will go to any extent.
' If you would like to be added to Cynthia's database, please email to me on cynthia.fernandes5@gmail.com-- Cynthia"If you want to be excluded from this mailing list, please reply back on email with the word UNSUBSCRIBE in the subject".
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