Make your holiday meaningful
- Unique opportunity to involve directly in Social/
charity activities like providing food, house,
clothes and education for the economically disadvantaged.
India is a land of stark
contrasts - you can never miss the most obvious
of them all - the steep divide in economic conditions
amongst its people. This country of a billion
people is just sixty years old but has a cultural
heritage and history that is over 5000 years old.
It is still in infancy in its growth towards becoming
a modern economic welfare state; the steps are
slow given it is the world's largest democracy
and it isn't easy to take a billion people into
consensus on the way to march forward.
Let not the sights of poverty and difficult living
cast
a grey over your holiday. Instead, think of at
least one way you can make a positive difference.
If you feel the calling, you can do your bit to
help some people of this country take the steps
forward. You can make a difference to their lives
and hence inturn to society. We have identified
some activities that can engage you as well as
help a set of needy persons. In case you dont
have time or inclination for any of these, just
be a responsible tourist - that in itself is a
good way to make a positive difference to lives
of many people.
Feed the needy. There
are numerous orphanages and old age homes that
are run on charity and minimum Government aid.
You can sponsor a good meal at any of these places,
interact with the inmates and have food with them.
You may also sponsor clothes, books etc
Aid a Self Help Group. A quiet socio-economic
revolution is happening in many parts of India
through Self Help Groups modeled after Gramin
bank of Bangladesh. Small groups of women from
economically backward families are given small
loans through Micro credit schemes to help them
run an enterprise to earn daily living. You can
opt to get involved with the working of a group,
suggest ways of improving their business, help
them procure orders for their products. These
are not charity projects and hence your contribution
would be in terms of helping them improve their
enterprise.
Build/repair house for the poor. You
can sponsor the construction/repair of a house
for the poor and be personally involved in the
construction/monitoring of the same. A lasting
gift that can make a meaningful positive change
to an entire family.
Teach rural children.
Rural and poor children have access only to Government
funded schools
which lag far behind expensive private educational
institutions in terms of amenities and quality
of teachers. The students however are as inquisitive
and cheerful as children you could meet anywhere
in the world. If you would like to spend some
time with them teaching them few games or english
rhymes, it would be definitely worth your time
and theirs too.
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