Udhyan Care, 9 March 2010

I and Anjali visited this NGO called Udhyan Care yesterday. We were a bit apprehensive before we walked in. The door at Udhyan Care welcomed us with the following word:

Change:
v/'chanj/ to make different in some particular way, to make radically different, transform, to give a different position, course, or direction, to replace with another, to make a shift from one to another.
Udhyan Care - Tiny Feet of a Giant Leap

We walked in and met the Volunteering coordinator, Gita. A simple women, she had a satisfied smile on her face that didn't seem forced or 'corporatish' in the least. We looked at her and thought,'Okay, is she the one who is going to explain everything to us?' We were not convinced. And then she started talking....in her own simple way she expressed the need NOT for money but for the time of people like us, who have a moral binding to return to the community what they have learnet but in the race of life, have conveniently forgotten the meaning of living and sharing.
Listening to her, Anjali and I realized that there was so much more to life than just presentations and corporate ethics.

That there were children living on the streets being sexually harrassed everyday with no where to go.......that there were kids like our own, whose parents were due to die in a few months of AIDS and there future was in total darkness.....that there was a small child waiting somewhere for a sucessful person like us to be his mentor, talk to him and guide him through various difficult phases of his life.......that money alone could not buy happiness because sharing a part of yourself, will bring much more satisfation......

It also dawnwed on us that forgoing a meal and round of drinks in QUBA could actually help us save a child from the red light area, that not buying just one dress in a year and giving away that amount to charity will educate a child, 5 years old, for an entire year and also give him food to eat, a blanket to cover his head and body in the winters......

And yesterday's visit taught us a very valuable lesson in life: We or our Kids could be where these children are today. If we join the chain of kindness today, someone will be there to answer our distress call when we need it. and to wrap it up: not everyone needs to wear a Gucci to make an impression. Sometimes, simplicity and passion for a cause are enough to convince the other person. Thanks Gita, for making us realize this simple truth of life......

Let's Volunteer - if not in cash then in Kind........

I'll keep you posted on how we are progressing with Udhyan Care and how we can make a difference to the lives of these children...in our own small ways.......

Shafina