'Joy of Giving Week' in Hyderabad

Starting today, for a week, I plan to do one post daily since I seem to have more time on my hands than money.

Last week something that I had been long trying to find out revealed itself to me in a rather unexpected way. Everyone knows, out there languish talented, hardworking people eager to make a honest living if only they had a bit of money. After years of traveling in rural areas I know how hard it is for some people to make a living. It was in my mind for long to do something to help instead of merely expressing sympathy. I was wondering how to go about identifying genuine people in need of a loan small enough for me but big enough for them to make a major difference in their lives. Last week, while reading the morning papers a small leaflet slipped out. It was the announcement of the ‘Joy of Giving Week’ event at Padmaraonagar which is near my home. I went with family in the evening and met a youngster in a stall of ‘Rang De’ which is an NGO which does exactly what I was thinking of. Now I am planning to go through the profiles of people who need a loan and pick out someone who I can help.

I find it very humbling to know that there are people and organizations who spend a lot of time and effort in helping people with problems like AIDS, learning disabilities and such problems normal people don’t pay attention to. At the fair I went around the stalls of several NGOs working for such people. More surprising was the fact there were eager youngsters mostly from the IT industry volunteering in the JGW. There was a fun element too to the event. School kids were dancing and giving performances. There was an enthusiastic youngster (I do not recollect his name) who I was told is seen often on television, belting out some popular film hits spurred on by the gathering. The crowd made of underprivileged school kids, visitors (many of them appearing well to do,) and others enjoyed the show that created a sense of participation and bonhomie.

An eager, polite youngster working for Microsoft who was in the Rotaract Club stall told me he’d come personally to collect a lot of stuff I wanted to give away. The next day I offloaded a carton full of books that I no longer wanted to read, clothes, ballpoint pens, pencils, an old keyboard and a mouse. The kid gave away some of the books I had bought for him to read when he was young. Apart from these articles there is something better that I can give- a helping hand and that I plan to do through Rang De. (www.rangde.org)