Hope is a state of mind, not of the world. Hope, in this deep and powerful sense, is not the same as joy that things are going well, or willingness to invest in enterprises that are obviously heading for success, but rather an ability to work for something because it is good.-Vaclav Havel
There are ways of thinking and there are means of doing. This applies to everything that we wish to achieve but have shelved for lack of time or effort. One concept that is always sacrificed at the altar of personal gain is the initiative to make a difference to the condition of the world today. The same appalling state of affairs that is now fashionable to balk at in dinner table conversations. Strapped safely into our jaded, cynical lives that is. So what are you doing for your world today? Why your world, your country or your neighbourhood for that matter? Only questions you say? No answers? No point in that eh? Well here goes then!
What I believe we need to do, is to educate one child at least and motivate that child to live, to create the truly wonderful thing that children are capable of creating in their lives; meaning. How often have we rolled our windows up in disdain at the shabby appearance of the boy selling flowers at the traffic signal or muttered something about pity or worse yet asked him, “Aye yeh sab kya karta hai, school jana chahiye!”? Don’t even bother answering that. But give it a thought.
In other episodes, we may have very graciously given clothes our children have grown out of to the children we see walking around close to the building. We believe we have done our good deed for the day and in some way improved their lives. But how do these mindless acts of so-called charity contribute to their lives? DO you really believe that these children care how they’re dressed? Well maybe in a superficial sense they do but what they really want is to be acknowledged as a success story, not a statistic! They want to be known by their names, live in houses like you and I, have a family to live with. That’s what they really want and need.
So why can’t we with all our haloed existences provide this kind of environment to one child? All we’re talking about is some time and even lesser money. But a lot of will; will to not give up in the face of the child’s resistance to your efforts to make contact with him or her. Most of these children, by this time in their lives, have seen things more scary than people like us will see in a lifetime. They develop a natural mistrust of people and refuse to believe that good does indeed exist somewhere in the world and that not everyone has ulterior motives behind giving them an opportunity to do something.
The statistics with reference to destitute children in India belong to the Stone Age. While one may endeavour to do something positive for these children, one doesn’t even know the extent of this problem. Thankfully, child labour laws have been revised to extend childhood to the age of 18. But this has also been done in a fashion that has affected the children adversely as many of them were then employed by employers as illegal workers and hence paid much less.
So what can you do? Take the time out for one child. Just one person more in the crazy scheme of your life. DO something! Don’t just sit there, look on and wonder what’s wrong with our world. Maybe, just maybe, YOU are the problem!
Note: To all those who felt even a twinge of emotion as you read this, the BMM class of 2007 ran a program in their first year called “Paathshala” that was a summer school for destitute children who live around the college. This project was privately funded by sponsorship garnered from a major corporation in the city. The program was a huge success and also contributed tremendously to the personal careers of several students (including, yours truly). However, the program was discontinued because of lack of initiative and left the children high and dry. But in the course of conducting the program we discovered that the children had a lot of potential to make it where we have and more. Very often, I’m asked by those children, “Didi, school kab chalu hoga?” and I have to look into their hopeful eyes and feel distraught and say that I have no idea, probably never. But YOU can change this! You can make Paathshala happen again. You can make it a reality, an institution, an initiative, an effort. You can make it anything you want it to be. You can make it yours. Do any of you have it in you? To dream? To create? If you do, I’m calling out to you to reach within you to make this happen. If you feel you can do it, I believe in you and trust me you’ll be glad you did.
There are ways of thinking and there are means of doing. This applies to everything that we wish to achieve but have shelved for lack of time or effort. One concept that is always sacrificed at the altar of personal gain is the initiative to make a difference to the condition of the world today. The same appalling state of affairs that is now fashionable to balk at in dinner table conversations. Strapped safely into our jaded, cynical lives that is. So what are you doing for your world today? Why your world, your country or your neighbourhood for that matter? Only questions you say? No answers? No point in that eh? Well here goes then!
What I believe we need to do, is to educate one child at least and motivate that child to live, to create the truly wonderful thing that children are capable of creating in their lives; meaning. How often have we rolled our windows up in disdain at the shabby appearance of the boy selling flowers at the traffic signal or muttered something about pity or worse yet asked him, “Aye yeh sab kya karta hai, school jana chahiye!”? Don’t even bother answering that. But give it a thought.
In other episodes, we may have very graciously given clothes our children have grown out of to the children we see walking around close to the building. We believe we have done our good deed for the day and in some way improved their lives. But how do these mindless acts of so-called charity contribute to their lives? DO you really believe that these children care how they’re dressed? Well maybe in a superficial sense they do but what they really want is to be acknowledged as a success story, not a statistic! They want to be known by their names, live in houses like you and I, have a family to live with. That’s what they really want and need.
So why can’t we with all our haloed existences provide this kind of environment to one child? All we’re talking about is some time and even lesser money. But a lot of will; will to not give up in the face of the child’s resistance to your efforts to make contact with him or her. Most of these children, by this time in their lives, have seen things more scary than people like us will see in a lifetime. They develop a natural mistrust of people and refuse to believe that good does indeed exist somewhere in the world and that not everyone has ulterior motives behind giving them an opportunity to do something.
The statistics with reference to destitute children in India belong to the Stone Age. While one may endeavour to do something positive for these children, one doesn’t even know the extent of this problem. Thankfully, child labour laws have been revised to extend childhood to the age of 18. But this has also been done in a fashion that has affected the children adversely as many of them were then employed by employers as illegal workers and hence paid much less.
So what can you do? Take the time out for one child. Just one person more in the crazy scheme of your life. DO something! Don’t just sit there, look on and wonder what’s wrong with our world. Maybe, just maybe, YOU are the problem!
Note: To all those who felt even a twinge of emotion as you read this, the BMM class of 2007 ran a program in their first year called “Paathshala” that was a summer school for destitute children who live around the college. This project was privately funded by sponsorship garnered from a major corporation in the city. The program was a huge success and also contributed tremendously to the personal careers of several students (including, yours truly). However, the program was discontinued because of lack of initiative and left the children high and dry. But in the course of conducting the program we discovered that the children had a lot of potential to make it where we have and more. Very often, I’m asked by those children, “Didi, school kab chalu hoga?” and I have to look into their hopeful eyes and feel distraught and say that I have no idea, probably never. But YOU can change this! You can make Paathshala happen again. You can make it a reality, an institution, an initiative, an effort. You can make it anything you want it to be. You can make it yours. Do any of you have it in you? To dream? To create? If you do, I’m calling out to you to reach within you to make this happen. If you feel you can do it, I believe in you and trust me you’ll be glad you did.
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