All Talk and No Action

Last weekend saw some fruitful activity by this lazy bone.

My company had its India Wide Volunteering Day on Saturday – April 26.

I had been looking forward to this day since the activities involved were pretty interesting. Painting with Akanksha Kids, Gardening and Planting Saplings, building houses at Karjat, Health & Hygiene seminars by Pratham…myriad activities..loads of excitement.

A few friends and I registered for painting and gardening activity at Anand Niketan (Mahalaxmi). The premise houses various NGOs, Cancer Aid Society, Institution for the mentally challenged, etc.

My friend Mahalakshmy and I vouched for gardening whereas Prabhdeep and Sonal opted for painting with kids.

Pheww…What a day and what fun!!

We were segregated into small groups and were asked to plant saplings and level barren gardens. It was sweltering hot and the job required physical strength too.

However, the whole activity saw vigorous participation. Animated conversations took place. New friendships were forged. It was nice to see people from various backgrounds come together…spend a weekend toiling away in the heat.

While, Mahalakshmy and I sweated it out, Sonal and Prabhdeep had huge fun painting walls for Akanksha’s center. The center was adorned by various colorful images – Mickey Mouse, Dolphins, Little girls with Pony Tails, etc. Some people took on the look of Picasso and worked as if a masterpiece was coming into shape while a few others chatted along and had a jolly good time painting lovely flowers.

We were assisted by kids from Akanksha. A very sweet batch! Most of these belonged to lower income groups. However, they were tutored by Aakanksha and some had gone on to become Arts and Maths teachers at Akanksha.

This brings me to an important observation – difference between government managed orphanages and NGOs.

Most of my trips to government managed orphanages have made me feel sad and helpless. Most kids lose their innocence when they start “understanding” the enormity of their situation. Being abandoned is bad enough – living off on donations and pity is worse!

These kids are treated as burden and often hold grudges against everyone in general. Moreover, they are hardly equipped with skills which would enable them to lead respectful lives and be economically independent.

On the other hand, organizations like Pratham and Akanksha help in “mentoring” kids. Most kids we interacted with were confident individuals, shy yet assertive. They were fluent in English and were proud of the fact that they were self sufficient.

Children from marginalized backgrounds do NOT need pity but need to be nurtured. They do not require donations rather opportunities. They have as much right to self respect as any of us.

Organisations like Pratham and Akanksha are doing a wonderful job in Child Literacy and education.

Their’s is a tedious and thankless job. However, their “Baby Steps” shall go a long way in helping “Youngistaan” grow into a confident nation.

Let us all extend our support to such organizations for helping the “Marginalised” India to Shine.