Provide one mid day meal to one child for one whole year

On the first day to school, a boy asks his dad, “Dad, why do I have to go to school?” to which the Dad replies, “Son, if you go to school and become educated, one day, you will know enough things with which you will be able to earn decent amount of money”. Then the boy asks “But Dad, why do I have to earn money? “ The Dad replies “Because son, when you grow up and I may not be here to take care of you, you will need to feed yourself and money and education will help you do that.”

I don’t think anybody would disagree with why the Dad wanted his son to go to school. A lot of people consent that Illiteracy is the biggest cause of world hunger. The reasoning goes as below.

Illiteracy =>Unemployment => Poverty =>Shortage of food =>World Hunger

Let us try to see if we can solve the above problem in the following way.

Make people literate => so that they can get good employment => to have an income more than the poverty line => to be able to buy food someday => and thus finally prevent World Hunger.

The biggest problem with this approach is that it may take a life time of patience and hard work from both sides to achieve the end result.

Einstein had rightly quoted, “Problems cannot be solved at the same level that created them”. We need to address this problem from the highest level first which is to prevent world hunger.

Ever tried to focus your mind on something when extremely hungry? How does it feel? Now imagine a little boy or girl sent to school to learn hundreds of new things with a hungry stomach all day. How much motivated would he/she be to stay in school least of all interested in listening to the teachers talking about algebra or geography?

Though education may be free in many schools, do you know why close to 13.5 million children in India are still into child labor?  For majority of cases it’s just to earn that one single meal in a day!

This month I would like to donate to the charity “Akshaya Patra” (meaning inexhaustible bowl of food) which understands the importance of hunger free children and provides mid day meals to around 1.3 million under privileged children in school. With only 675INR the expenses for providing one mid day meal to one child for one whole year will be covered.

Would this help the child study harder? I don’t know. But would it discourage him/her from doing odd jobs in the worst work environments and motivate him to stay in school longer? Most probably yes!

Link to the charity website
https://www.akshayapatra.org/

Link to the online donation option

https://www.akshayapatra.org/onlinedonations

Help prevent half a heart become half a life

The birth of a baby! Is it common? Yes, Of course, there could be no person who was not born on some day. 

So something so common should also be very easy right? Well, I am sure every mother will have a different story to tell you about that.  You will also find that it is a different story with every one of their children.

After waiting for around 9 months, when any parents in the world are waiting for their little one's arrival, it does not matter what dreams and expectations they have woven for their child since the time of conception.  At that critical moment most parents pray only for one thing. A healthy and a happy baby!

Unfortunately, not all parents are as lucky. There are so called ‘congenital’ diseases (diseases which occur at or before the birth of a baby), many of which are of the heart.  Babies are born with half of a functional heart. The cause? Different kinds of Congenital Heart Defects like Complex Pulmonary Atresia, Tricuspid Atresia, Hypoplastic Left Heart Syndrome (HLHS), Double Inlet or Outlet Ventricle etc.

Finding it hard to pronounce the names? Believe me; the names are definitely far less complicated than the actual conditions.

Discovering that your baby has a complicated heart problem can be extremely frightening for most parents. I can only imagine what it feels like to send your baby on to the operating table even before you can cuddle her to your heart’s content.

Although medical technology has advanced so much more than before and you have got the best hospitals , the questions like "What would happen if something goes wrong?" or "Why us God? ", crosses almost every parent’s mind.

In these situations of stress, it is of immense help to talk to somebody who has faced the same type of situation as only they would understand the true extent of pain. Support and advice on all possible things like what symptoms to watch out for after the baby is born, what lifestyle changes can help towards a quicker recovery would bring new rays of hope and strength.

This month I would like to donate 20 £ to the charity “Little Hearts Matter” who provide a variety of help to the parents of children born with half a heart. With their support and advice service, 7 day a week helpline, contribution to the field of research and an active group of parents facing similar situations, the charity really makes the lives of thousands of parents much less stressful.

Link to the charity website

http://www.lhm.org.uk/Default.aspx

Link to the online donation option

http://www.lhm.org.uk/Info/donate-104.aspx

Sponsor a child's education for one year

Dropping my son to the nursery, my thoughts led to my own school days. Oh how beautiful they were! Getting the first bike on a birthday, having a best friend, raising a  hand (sometimes both hands!) when you knew the answer to a question in class, having a favorite teacher, sharing lunch boxes, giggling on the backbenches and when the exams came, waking up all night just because you get to taste coffee from your mom who is full of sympathy for you. (Otherwise it was always the Bournvita with milkJ). No matter what happened on any day, they were just filled with fun and adventure.

When the school started every year, there was the joy in buying new school uniforms, the curiosity of who the new teachers would be and the mesmerizing smell of new shoes, notebooks and text books.

When the school term would end, there was fun there too in the many things to do in holidays like watching lots of movies, go visit relatives ,reading story books or just go on picnics with friends. (These days its playing Xbox or learning computer languagesJ , but fun changes with time. Doesn’t it?)

You may have a similar story as mine or different but you surely must have enjoyed the way it was. Even if you had not enjoyed it a lot, Is it not a crucial part of where you are today?

I wondered how many children do not have the beautiful experiences of a school life in India and found that in 2011, the literacy rate is 74.4%. It does seems to be improving each year, but it’s still a long way to go if you want to stop so many other problems associated with it like exploitation, unemployment, overpopulation, poverty and other limits imposed on even a very talented person, only because of not having a basic primary education.

This month I would like to donate to an Indian charity Sanskriti Sanvardhan Mandal which works very hard in the rural education sector. In just 3000 INR, a child would get education, school uniforms, books, medical checkup, nutritional supplements and sports equipments for a whole year.

Below is the link to the online donation option

http://www.giveindia.org/p-3779-sponsor-a-childs-education-for-one-year.aspx#

Below is the link to the charity website

http://www.ssmandal.net/

Set of clothes and three months ration for a poor elderly person

I appreciate today how important the elderly are in our society. Through their experience over the years spent on this earth they are really one of the biggest contributors for a stronger and happier society. Nature herself teaches us that age demands dignity and honor. The older the redwoods, the more majestic they look, the older wines and cheeses are, the more they are praised and honored for taste. 

Chat with a grand pa for an hour and you will get all the wisdom of the world. Tell a grand ma about any of your aches/ colds / fevers /stomach upsets and she will give you the best home remedies. To me these remedies chased away, whatever I had, faster than any other doctor’s prescription.

The young may think the elderly do not have any feelings and may try to hurt them, but many a times, I have seen that they have become so powerful from inside that they continue to love us regardless of our treatment to them.

The sad thing is despite being so kind and helpful they are often one of the most vulnerable ones in the society. Hence, this month I would like to donate to the charity “Village Development Centre” in India. In just 1400 INR you can sponsor a set of clothes and three months ration for a poor elderly person. 

Link to online donation option ->

 http://www.giveindia.org/p-4135-sponsor-a-set-of-clothes-and-three-months-ration-for-a-poor-elderly-person.aspx

Link to the charity website ->

http://www.vdcindia.org/

With all the things that the elderly offered, this is just a token of my deepest gratitude for them. 

Emergency Food Basket - one family for one month

I realised today that I don't always thank god or rather thank god enough for not having to worry about where my next meal is going to come from.

Today I do that with all my heart and I also thank him to have given me enough to help a family have their meals for another month. 

My charity of this month is "Save the Children" to the cause "Emergency Food Basket". With only 20 £ a family will be able to have a month’s supply of food.

Below is the link to the donation link.

http://shop.savethechildren.org.uk/product/family-food-basket/

Below is the link to the charity website
http://www.savethechildren.org.uk/

I hope that they enjoy the meals and May God keep them happy and healthy!