Arise -The DREAM
A friend of mine had to relocate to a rural area owning to her husband’s transfer to that place. It is a remote area with absolutely no entertainment option of any kind. Finding it difficult to while away her time, she started tutoring kids of underprivileged people at her residence itself. From four in numbers at the beginning it soared up to 19 in just a week. She started to find it difficult to cater to all of them at one time. Hence she decided to group them into two. Students came pouring in numbers and even though she was finding it difficult, she did not have the heart to refuse to help them. While teaching she noticed that the kids picked things very fast and had to be told just a couple of times on how to deal with an exercise. Such was the poverty of their parents that they failed to bring any supply of notebooks or slate-chalk with them. Impressed by the kids’ calibre and eagerness to learn, my friend bought them the necessities. She said that while she distributed the stationary to the kids, there was an exceptional happy glow on their faces. My friend told me she had never felt happier.
Helping others brings a unique sense of fulfillment that is hard to obtain by any other means. And education is a right by all means. Our constitution has included Right to Education as a Fundamental Right, but it is something that changes the entire outlook of a person and in turn that of the society and nation. Contributing to the efforts of the Government, isn’t it a social responsibility of us all to ensure the education of as many children as possible.
A single step of a man is a giant leap for mankind. If as individuals we take it upon us to dream of an educated nation and contribute towards it, wouldn’t that be wonderful? In view of similar ideologies, Arise is an initiative to help such children see the light of day by helping them in their education. It’s a small step towards attainment of a dream that was the envision of our freedom fighters.
It’s very fortunate that most of us have been born in homes where supply of books and stationary was never an issue. It’s time we do not take such things for granted. If God has willed us to be what we are, we should also consider giving back to the society what we have achieved. Sparing a couple of hours or some money towards helping children who wish to study but are unable to, due to financial reasons, would be a noble gesture.