https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmZ4sheSjZdcZVodLVTLJhnQ2nkQSpZoRsBUUfYk6fk21A/1000246168.jpg There are so many types of charity — and not all are about giving money.
Passing on your skills, your knowledge, your time to someone who cannot otherwise afford it — what could be more noble than that?

Today, while watching my husband's mother patiently teach someone the basic cutting of a *kameez* and *shalwar* (the traditional Pakistani dress form), I had a moment of reflection. I had to capture that simple yet profound act.
It made me think of my own mother —
A woman who has, over the years, taught countless girls the art of stitching, sewing, and special sewing techniques once they mastered the basics.
I couldn’t personally benefit from her skills 😉 — that's another story — but everyone who ever learned [*piping*](https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Piping_(sewing)), from her swears they couldn’t have had a better teacher. She has been a teacher her whole life — not in a formal classroom, but wherever she found a heart willing to learn.

https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmWKsY4KnDGJ2eQvzU3w5vkEvcSwBNFqQRQdNe4ytk1gVG/1000246167.jpg Knitting, sewing, Quran recitation, basic *Qaida* (Alif, Bay, Pay ا ب پ), basic reading and writing — you name it, she has lovingly taught it.
Why haven’t I ever thought of doing the same? Maybe I never got the right opportunity. Maybe I didn’t look hard enough. Maybe, like so many of us, I was simply too engrossed in raising my own children.
But today, standing there and watching another quiet lesson unfold, I realized that passing on whatever little knowledge we have — especially to those who are deprived — is a kind of charity that leaves a lasting impact.

And it made me remember a small chapter of my own:
Years ago, I used to give tuition to the daughter of our house help.
We had a daily routine at the dining table — my children doing their homework, and this little girl sitting alongside them. I tried helping her too, with her studies and her homework.
She was never an enthusiastic student, often distracting the others instead of focusing.
Yet, we continued for about a year.
Until one day, her mother accused me — rather bluntly — that her husband was unhappy with my "methods" because the daughter wasn’t showing enough results.
I tried to explain that the child was not serious about learning, but my words fell on deaf ears.
And so, after a year of giving my time and heart, I quietly stepped back.

That experience taught me something important: **You can only help those who truly want to help themselves.**
If you are ever lucky enough to come across such a person — someone willing to learn, willing to grow — don't hold back. Make it your effort.
It could be the most meaningful gift you ever give.

Because sometimes, charity isn’t about saving lives with grand gestures.
Sometimes, it’s about sewing a small stitch in someone’s life, one careful thread at a time. https://cdn.steemitimages.com/DQmWKDkCHobtky8MdL1jCVnxyMiWARzff7PNmrHmFBhqNT1/1000246169.jpg _{I’ll be sharing the finished piece once she has stitched it!}