Serving those who serve (Fiji)

First appeared here.

Twelve-year-old Arnav Vignesh Kumar lived in Suva, where rain was often a backdrop to everyday life. One afternoon, while waiting with his father in town, he noticed something that stayed with him. Several police officers were standing at their posts, soaked and shivering, carrying on with their duties as if the cold did not matter. But to Arnav, it did. He could not shake the image of them enduring the weather without even a warm cup of tea to hold.

Later that week, Arnav asked his father if he could use the money he had saved from birthdays and allowances. With his dad’s support, Arnav purchased thirty small appliances such as kettles, toasters, and frying pans and delivered them personally to the local police. It was his quiet way of saying thank you and of giving back warmth to those who stood in the rain to keep others safe.

The officers were moved. One of them, Assistant Commissioner Livai Driu, later said that Arnav’s act of kindness had touched them deeply. It was not the size of the gift that mattered. It was the heart behind it. In the middle of Suva’s rainy season, one boy’s warmth had reached far beyond the drizzle.

Picture: SUPPLIED via The Fiji Times