Were the good old days really that much better?

I often hear older aunts and uncles say how ‘In the good old days morals were much better, or the world was less materialistic…etc.’

While we see terrorism and murders and rape in the newspapers every day, there are also lot of young people getting involved in social services and trying to make the world a better place. Unfortunately the virtuous acts of people are not as news worthy as the ‘horror stories’ and so we continue to only hear about how the world is getting worse each day.

So in this blog post I thought of highlighting some amazing young people who have come up with creative ways of helping each other. Most of these are students or normal people like you and me. While there is also a trend of famous millionaires and celebrities such as Bill Gates, Warren Buffet, Matt Damon, Bon Jovi establishing their own Not-for-profit (NFP) organisations, I will not go into those which get enough publicity but just mention a few examples of youngsters trying to improve the world even if it is in their own small way.

 Just yesterday I had the opportunity to attend the final presentations of undergrad students for their subject on team work. The assignment was to work in teams and achieve something larger than themselves. I was very touched by the dedication and creativity of these students. One group worked with the residents at Sahanaya (National Council for Mental Health) where they conducted art therapy classes with the residents who were given materials to make Christmas cards and then these cards were sold to raise funds for the organisation. Another group worked with a very poor school to buy them books, another worked on empowering young girls by teaching life skills, and yet another decided to help the cleaning ladies of their own university. At the end of the session most of the students said that at the beginning they worked on these projects in order to get the marks, but at the end they were so moved by the project that they wanted to continue the work they started even after the end of the project.

Another young group of students trying to make a difference from the University of Colombo have come up with their own organisation, Empower Lanka.  Their mission is to provide free electricity for rural villages to help them break out of the poverty cycle and to reduce Sri Lanka's carbon emissions. This organisation was supported by ‘GlobalChange Makers’ a vibrant community of young activists, volunteers and social entrepreneurs. The Global Change Makers community activists and social entrepreneurs aged 16-25 who are actively bringing about positive change with the support of the British Council.

Even in MBAs subjects on philanthropy and social entrepreneurship have become more popular. When I was in Cambridge (2006/07), we had an elective on social entrepreneurship but it was cancelled due to lack of students, but now subjects on these areas seem to be much more popular in most MBA schools. Here is an article from Business Weekly on the subject http://www.businessweek.com/business-schools/philanthropy-gains-eager-followers-in-bschools-08172011.html.

Cambridge University has started a new venture called Beyond Profit in their own words the mission of Beyond Profit is to inspire and support students to make the world a better place through their career or through entrepreneurship. 

Another example of young students using technology and web 2.0 in tackling the world’s major issues is End Ignorance. It is a collaborative non-profit online platform that addresses today’s most pressing issues ranging from extreme poverty to genocide by informing individuals and providing easy access to opportunities to get involved. The content is written collaboratively by volunteers around the world and it has a similar concept as Wikipedia.

Maybe the youth of today want to do something larger than themselves, or maybe after the Financial crisis they realised the temporary nature of material things and thought of doing something more… or looking for their purpose in life, in a world where religion and spirituality seems to be disappearing… With the advent of the internet and web 2.0 privileged youngsters also have the opportunity to learn more about what is happening outside their ‘happy homes’. Whatever the reason there is hope for the future… So I don’t think the ‘good old days were better than today’.

To be a candle in the darkness…

Lord, a candle stands before me.

It burns restlessly, sometimes with a small, sometimes with a larger flame.
I too am often restless. Let me find rest in You.
It gives me light and warmth. Let me too be light for the world.
It consumes itself in its service. May I also be of service to people.
With this candle I can ignite other candles.
May I also contribute in this way that others may begin to shine.

I came across this prayer when we dropped into a lovely church in Lucerne to light a candle for our intentions. It reminded me of my favourite quote by George Bernard Shaw (which is also the description of this blog). The quote talks about being a splendid torch, but even that torch most probably got its light from a tiny candle... There is something beautiful about the flame of a candle flickering in the wind, that has always drawn me to it. Today with electricity the candle doesn’t have that same significance to give light, but I always see the value each time there is a power cut (when I was in Sri Lanka) and we light the house with candles, its wonderful how even a single candle can pierce the darkness and give light…

I would like to be like a candle, giving light to dispel the darkness rather than just cursing it. This is also the motto of a Sri Lankan association which was started to help the needy called CandleAid formerly known as AFLAC (Association For Lighting A Candle). I came across this organisation when I was at the University of Moratuwa studying engineering and across from our University there was a blind colony which was helped by AFLAC. There were 5 houses with around 7 blind, very old and feeble ladies and gentlemen with no one to look after them. I remember doing a community services project where we went with some Civil engineering students and improved their houses and blocked leaks so that they would not slip and fall when the rain water leaked from their roofs. We also went there a few times to talk to them, take food and rations (they especially loved sweets) and they always welcomed us holding our hands to say hello, they even sang Christmas carols to entertain us… I wonder how they are now… I haven’t visited them for a very long time, I guess life gets busy and then we forget about the less fortunate. Especially living in Switzerland I don’t really see much poverty. Even the beggars here dress quite well. Of course I’m sure they have hard lives, trying to live in such an expensive location with no proper income, but the sheer level of poverty is not so obvious here and when you don’t see them you don’t feel guilty for not doing anything.

I have now hung up the prayer from the church to remind me to be that ‘candle’ rather than just a complaining or cursing the darkness…

Support the Global Fund

I just saw this advocacy video for support for the Global Fund to fight AIDS, Tuberculosis and Malaria (where I work in Geneva). It was so moving I had to post it. These are the days when I am very glad about my decision to move into the Not-for-Profit sector. It is wonderful to know that the work you do in someway helps eliviate the sufferings of others and help save lives. I just had to share this video with everyone.