My Last Post - Help a person with mental health problems regain control of life.

It’s been a year now that I have been writing the posts on this blog. I thank all of you with all my heart for the time spent in reading it, as time, we know has become a very expensive commodity today.

I had loved to write on this blog, as in the process of writing, I came to know about facts which I myself didn’t know about. And each time I wrote about any issue, it made me feel even more strongly about doing something more to help resolve it.

Although it’s been wonderful to research on charities and select a charity of the month, I feel that I need to be even more connected with the cause I am involved with and work longer than a month one one cause to have a more sustained result. For this reason, I will be ending my blog this month.

Have I decided what I am going to do next? No. But hopefully my mind will figure it out. After all, the idea of this blog also came from my mind.

Mind! What an amazing thing! The whole world makes sense only through what our mind thinks of it. Hence someone has rightly said, “My world is in my mind.”

Human mind has achieved nothing less than miracles when you think of all the inventions and discoveries in literary every sector of the world.

We can see and talk to people from the other end of the world and can even fly around our planet, only through technologies created by great minds. We have found the cures for many critical diseases, created exotic pieces of art and structures, all only by putting our minds into it. From the time we wake up to the time we go back to bed, we can do nothing without first creating a thought (either consciously or subconsciously) about it in our minds.

As powerful a gift as it is to humanity, all great scriptures of our world tell us that “Mind is a great servant but a terrible master” and advice us to always be on guard of the thoughts we create.

So what happens when we lose control and let our minds take charge? It then becomes a monster making us helpless and out of control and leading us to our own misery. The doctors define these conditions as “Mental health diseases”.

Mental health problems include a wide range of illnesses like depression, anxiety, self-harm, eating disorders, schizophrenia, psychosis, stress and bipolar disorder. Some problems may be quite mild or moderate, while others may take on a more severe form, affecting a person’s ability to cope with day-to-day living and maintain any personal relationships.

All a person needs in these type of situations is to speak to somebody who understands them and not judge them and give them a hand to come out of the mental trap and take back control, because only when we are in full control of our minds, we are truly happy!

This month I would like to donate to the charity “Mind – For Better Mental Health”. This is a charity in the UK which offers diagnostics and treatment for the different mental health diseases, has a helpline where people can call for advice and various other services to improve mental health.

Link to the charity website

http://www.mind.org.uk/

Link to the online donation link

http://www.mind.org.uk/donate

Help a rural entrepreneur by investing in their business

I am always intrigued by the way a bank helps people live their dream lives. Whether your dream is to drive that best car in the market, buy your own home or get an education from that top notch school, there is a loan available to live that dream in the present. By helping people have, what they would otherwise had taken a life time to get, a bank as an institution has a big role in enriching people’s lives.

So all you need to do is approach a bank for what you want and get the loan. Right? Well, not so fast! If you are one of those people who do not have a good credit history, then the loan may not be sanctioned. Alternatively if the interest rates are too high to pay for you, it may not be an attractive option to you either. One may think that this is a sure sensible way to go. After all, banks exist to make a profit of their own too.

However, it is such a sad fact that there are a large number of people who are never able to get the loan they need, as they invariably fall into the above two categories. These are the people who are stuck up in what economics defines as the ‘cycle of poverty’. Because of being poor, they are not able to access financial capital to start-up a business or learn a new skill and due to this they again continue to stay poor.

All around, you see different people of this section in the society, serving you every day, in the guise of fruit and vegetable vendors, milk sellers etc conveniently located close to your home. All they need is a little nudge to help improve the productivity of their work and hence their income. And by doing that, they are also able to serve the local public in a better way. As everybody else, isn’t it their right too, to improve their standards of living? 

It is correct that a bank should check the credit history to avoid defaults before giving a loan and should charge an interest to get their return on investment. But how can a poor person have a credit history when no one has trusted him/her with credit before? Also the amount of loan required by them is very low. If a very high interest rate is charged on a small income, then would the loan be a viable one?  

To help empower this section of the society,  “Microcredit Banks” have been set-up by various voluntary organizations. Professor Muhammad Yunus is one of the pioneers of setting up such a bank, where small loans are given to poor people, with a low interest rate, so that they can find income generating opportunities, enabling them to rise above poverty levels. Yunus was awarded a noble peace prize for his outstanding efforts in making millions of people financially self sufficient.

Today, there are many micro credit institutions all over the world. One of these institutions is the charity “Rangde”. This is a web based social initiative which supports rural entrepreneurs from low income households by providing access to low cost microcredit. With more than 14000 borrowers and close to 4000 investors and a repayment rate of more than 99%, the charity is doing a commendable work in this sector. This month I would like help a rural entrepreneur by investing in their business through rangde to express my support in their zeal to grow in life.

Link to the charity website
www.rangde.org

Link to the list of borrowers to invest online

http://www.rangde.org/invest/microcredit/india

Help make clothing a matter of concern

Clearing my wardrobe on the weekend, I found a dress which I had completely forgotten about. Why did I still keep it? Because it was so beautiful! Will I ever use it? Not at least in the next few months!

I checked how many more clothes I had which I hadn’t been using in the last couple months and was surprised to find a lot. I put all of them in a bag and donated them to a local charity which made me feel really good.

I then wondered why I was feeling so good. Was it because I thought I did a righteous act of giving something to charity or was it because my wardrobe looked more spacious and organized now? May be a bit of both, but I now knew that it wasn’t just me helping the charity; the charity was helping me too, by giving me, ease of access to my own possessions.

The world today is divided into two kinds of people. People who have excess of anything and people who are in complete lack of the same thing. This gap is very wide in one of the most important essentials of human life. Clothing!

While one section of the society have their closets overflowing with garments from all top brands in the fashion market, another section of the society struggles to put that last possible stitch, on the single garment they have, in an attempt to use it for a few more days.

While people in one part of the world wear their outfits to flaunt their status symbol, in another part of the world, people cover themselves with just a few scraps, to protect their dignity.

While millions of people go shopping to buy a new jacket, just because they are bored of wearing the same old stuff, the remaining millions die in winter because of insufficient clothing to keep warm.

Does all this mean that we live in guilt because some of us cannot afford what we can and stop buying stuff? Of course not! Buying any new stuff brings its own air of delight into our homes and by buying new stuff we are also helping the economy. But a real balance can only be achieved when we buy consciously, let go off things we no longer use and pass them on with love, to people who need it.

This month I would like to donate 2000 INR to the charity “Goonj”. This is a charity in India which strives to create a balance between the surplus and the deficient. In one part of the world, it clothes people and gives them a life of self-respect and in another part of the world; it creates space and peace of mind for people by removing the clutter from their homes. Started in 1998 with only 67 personal clothes, GOONJ is channelizing over 70,000 kg of material every month. The charity not only transfers the material it receives to the right people but also uses them as a resource in its very own innovative programs like Cloth for work, School to School campaigns and Recycling them into new products

Link to the charity website

http://goonj.org/

Link to the online donation links
http://www.giveindia.org/iGive-goonjcharity
http://goonj.org/?page_id=838

Help provide clean water For Drought-Affected Families In India

Water! So Important that Leonardo Da Vinci once called it “The driving force of all nature.”

Ever notice how lifeless a house plant looks when you forget to water it? Just a little water and it starts to look happy and lively again. This is exactly what water does to us too.

When I read the fact that our bodies are made up of over 70% water, our blood more than 80%‚ our brain over 75%‚ our livers an amazing 96% and what more, water is also contained in every cell of the body, I had an obvious question. If we are so full of water, why are we told to drink 8 glasses of water every day?

The answer is simple. Water is used up in almost every important function of the body.

Regulating our body temperature needs water as it dissipates excess heat and cools our bodies. And how important is this function? Only as important as not getting a heat stroke or fever!

Removal of waste from the kidneys needs water as all the waste needs to be dissolved in water. So what would happen if this waste is not cleared out? Well, we will then need to know what would happen when there is any damage to the kidneys!

Lubricating of joints and the spinal cord requires water. Can we be bothered by that? It depends! Can we be bothered if we have to wail with pain every time we want to bend or move our hands and legs?

We even need water to breathe as our lungs need to be moistened to be able to respire. I don’t think we need to ask how important being able to breathe is. But if we still want to know, we can just stop breathing for a few seconds and check! :)

We can go on and on about how water is helping our entire body in performing all the functions we don’t even think about every day and we are sure to find more and more. But I think we all agree that to live healthier lives we need to drink more water.

So, all we need to do is turn on the tap and pour a glass of water. Right? Well, not if you are one of those people who is living in a place where water, instead of being a basic human right, is actually an item of luxury.

Knowing how each of the functions of our bodies can start collapsing if we don’t drink enough of water, shouldn't water be an easily available commodity?

How unfortunate is it then, if for such a basic need, you need to do miles and miles of walking, line up in a long queue and wait for hours for your turn to come up. You then have to haul that heavy can of water back home and walk those long miles again. And does it end there? Of course not! This could just be the first of your several trips, on that day, to get water for you and your family.

This month I would like to donate 30$ to the charity “Gramin Vikas Vigyan Samiti” who has been empowering the rural power of Thar Desert in india since the last 25 years. Since its origin, the charity has been assisting people there to achieve water security and uses the majority of its resources to this end. One of their projects is building of water-collection tanks, to ensure easy, continuous access to water for 700 families living in 10 remote villages in Rajasthan. By helping resolve the problem of water, the charity indeed helps the people live healthier lives.

Link to the charity website

http://www.gravis.org.in/

Link to the online donation link

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/clean-water-for-drought-affected-families-in-india/

Help improve the quality of life of a terminally ill person

Death! We all know that it is our inevitable destiny but as long as we know that it is going to be on some day and not today, do we really do anything about it?

Since time immemorial, many wise people have told us, in various ways, to live each day as though it is our last to make the most of our lives. But do we really get the true essence of it?

Do we enjoy whatever life has given us, while it lasts, as we know that we are going to lose it all someday; or do we hoard as many possessions as we can and live in a constant fear of losing them?

Do we love our closed ones just the way they are, as we know that we have come into this world alone and will leave alone too; or do we try to control them with our demands and expectations?

Do we seek the bliss in any act in the act itself, as we know that our actions are the only things that are remembered when we are gone; or do we have a mindset of “What’s in it for me?” in every task we do?

Death, when it arrives, tells us what the right thing to do was in all those situations, but no matter when it comes in our lives we are never truly ready for it and we will most certainly wish we had more time.

To some people, death comes all of a sudden and even before they know it, they have left us. And to some people, it comes with a prior notice, reminding them every day, that the end is now not far away.

Terminal illness is such a case where there is no hope for the person’s cure and death is just around the corner.  It is painful and gets worse with each passing day. Each person reacts differently to the news of carrying a terminal illness ranging from disbelief to anger to depression.

In such times of distress, a person needs help in realizing that death is not an event but a process. Support is required in moving them from whatever stage of reaction they are in to a stage of acceptance as only acceptance of any situation can make the situation smaller than what they are truly capable of.

This month I would like to donate 20£ to the charity Marie Curie Cancer Care. This is a charity in the UK which helps patients live the best possible lives they can in those last days. They have hospices where the patients can get admitted to and be taken care of. They also provide registered nurses and health care professionals for home care. Services like alleviating physical pain, emergency help in situations like difficulty breathing etc, counseling support to the patient and family, integrating spiritual belief to help cope with the situation are all provided free of charge to such people. They probably cannot increase the quantity of a person’s life, but they most certainly help increase the quality of the person’s life

Link to the charity website

http://www.mariecurie.org.uk/

Link to the online donation link

https://www.mariecurie.org.uk/en-gb/donate/donatenow/?a=5

Educate one visually challenged child for one year

I remember a time when I was very afraid of dark. I used to be so scared of it, that I could hardly go to the next room without somebody accompanying me if that room did not have lights for some reason.

Thankfully, today we have artificial lightings everywhere to ward off those feelings of fear. But thinking about those times raised a rather disturbing thought in me. What about people who always have to live in the dark because all they can see is darkness. Are they afraid of the dark too, like I was? What does their life feel like?

My life seems to be pretty straight forward with these eyes. I name different things in the world based on how they look. I understand what is happening around me by reading about it. When I have some time to entertain myself, I watch TV. I check if the fruits and vegetables are fresh by the way they appear.  I understand what somebody feels just by observing their facial expressions. I know as soon I notice, that a smile from somebody means, the person is happy and a frown from somebody means, the person is irritated.

I believe what I see!

I know that this is how I have been living all my life because I have eyes. A person without them will have a very different perception of the world and a totally different way to experience it. But will there really be nothing they are missing out on?

Well, there probably isn’t as much as the society makes them think so. They only need a little bit of support and a little bit of confidence from us (and not sympathy) to help them get on with their lives. But don’t all of us need that from time to time?

History has got some remarkable people who never let blindness come in their way. Helen Keller, Franklin Delano Roosevelt, Louis Braille are just to name a few. However, there could be millions of others who have the same fire in them but are not able to reach where they want to go because they haven’t got the same cooperation from their societies.

This month I would like to donate to the charity, Vidyaranya Education and Development Society (VEDS) in India, whose vision is “To build a just and peaceful society”. One of their projects is to run a residential school for visually challenged children. In just INR 1900, the education cost of a poor visually challenged child for one year will be covered.

Liink to the charity website

http://www.vidyaranya.in/

Link to the online donation link

http://www.giveindia.org/p-4325-educate-a-poor-blind-child-for-one-year.aspx#

Support planting 1000 trees and saving 100 acres of the Peruvian Amazon forest

Once upon a time, not long ago, a tree sang to me the following poem.....

I keep standing in this position and haven’t moved an inch, since the day I was born.

Do you know why?

Because I know I am a landmark to you here and will help you find your way.

I create flowers and fill them with different colours, sometimes even in the midst of thorns.

Do you know why?

Because I know you want to bunch them together and give it to someone you love.

I produce fruits and vegetables, sometimes so heavy that I began to bend.

Do you know why?

Because I know you will be healthy and full of life by just eating them.

I stretch myself in all directions, sometimes so far that I hardly see my own branches.

Do you know why?

Because I know you will seek protection under me, from the scorching heat and the heavy rains.

I serve you in all possible ways your mind can think, many times even after I am dead.

Do you know why?

Because I know it will help you have, all that you think is necessary for a comfortable life.

I do nothing and patiently watch, when I see you rapidly cut off, every one of my species.

Do you know why?

Because I know that my nature is only to give and never to get back at any one.

Surely, there is no amount of gratitude enough for having trees in the world. As a chinese proverb goes, "The best time to plant a tree was 20 years ago and the second best time is now", this month I would like to support the charity "Camino Verde" in their noble task to plant 1000 trees and save 100 acres of the Peruvian Amazon forest.

By paying 25$, the cost of transporting over 100 tree seedlings will be covered.

Link to the charity website.

http://www.caminoverde.org/

Link to the on-line donation link 

http://www.globalgiving.org/projects/planting-1000-trees-saving-100-acres/