During the volunteering activity where we managed to interact with people with disability I was able to aid someone in creating a brooch with flag of the United Arab Emirates on it. The person I helped was skilled because she shared that she has worked on the activity for several years that she mastered the process already.
Some people may argue that helping a person with the disability only adds a sense of self-pity to the person because he/she is reminded of the things he/she can not do and the body parts that he/she is lacking. It can make them feel inferior to the people with complete body parts and can function normally. It also gives the people with disability the wrong impression of dependency towards other people. However, based on the concept Consequentialism the appropriateness or wrongness of one’s action can only be judge based on the consequence of the act (either it be a positive or negative consequence). In my case, based on the ‘thank you’ from the person I helped my actions were not wrong.
She said that I was a great help to her and that she enjoyed my company. She shared stories about her experiences as a student, where I also told mine. I did not give her pity, but rather I wanted to see how she manages to create brooches despite her handicap. She taught both the process of making the brooch and an even deeper lesson about life- to never give up despite challenges. Both the volunteering opportunity and Consequentialism thought me to value the decisions I make because the results will define the appropriateness of my actions.
