'GIVING - HOW EACH OF US CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE AND CHANGE THE WORLD'
Good Evening Ladies and Gentlemen,
It's a pleasure to be here at Microsoft. I am very honored to be here to share my opinions, thoughts and experiences about issues that concern all of us. I thank all of you for taking the time to come and attend this talk and I hope you find this informative and interesting.
When I was in school, I read a wonderful little book. It was called 'The Story of My Experiments with Truth'. It was the autobiography of Mohan Das Karamchand Gandhi. It was not a part of my school syllabus. But, I read it anyway, because it was written by a great man, who I admired a great deal. He was a man who rooted the foundations of freedom in his activism and advocacy for liberty, equality and justice. He was perhaps the only man who fought, not as an army general fighting a war, but as a citizen who cared about liberty, equality and justice by peaceful means. And today as I speak, I can proudly claim that India is a democracy born out of Gandhi's citizen activism. It was because of his activism as a citizen, that we have the good fortune of living in a thriving democratic society, where we as citizens can elect our leaders and Governments.
So, ladies and gentlemen, the focus of my talk today would be on Citizen Social responsibility. My emphasis would be on how, we as individuals can improve and change the world to be a better place just by a simple act - GIVING. I am here to encourage everyone to GIVE whatever we can – time, experience, skills, money – to make a difference to other's lives.
This is because there is so much that needs to be done – around the corner and around the world and also because, almost everyone – regardless of age, skills, income or social status, can do something positive for others by GIVING and in the process, solve important problems facing the humanity. So, the potential and the need for GIVING is enormous
The focus of my discussion will broadly revolve around three important issues
1. Poverty Reduction
2. Climate Change
3. Child Labour
Information Technology revolution and the globalization of commerce have boosted economic growth. But this growth has not been equitable. There are colossal disparities in the distribution of income and wealth. On the one hand, there are more number of Millionaires and Billionaires than ever, but on the other hand, about half the world's population lives on less than a dollar a day. While some are making their millions by the day, there are those who are dying of hunger, starvation and desperate poverty. While there are those who are fortunate enough go to good schools and learn in air-conditioned environments, there are children with dreams that are dying without a helping hand. What is distressing is the fact that markets do not reward saving lives of people or providing healthcare and education to those who can not afford it. In this so called 'market driven economy', we seem to have been blinded by what we perceive to be 'focus on the bottom lines'.
But, all is not doom and gloom. There are many individuals and organizations around the world that are making some truly remarkable efforts. A remarkable example of GIVING is of course the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation. As all of you know, Bill and Melinda Gates have GIVEN more than 35 billion dollars to address a wide range of global issues like Education and health care. In his Harvard Commencement speech on the 2nd June 2007, Bill Gates said "If you believe that every life has equal value, it's revolting to learn that some lives are seen as worth saving and others are not". Keeping in conjunction with this philosophy, the Bill and Melinda Gates foundation has been focusing on creating breakthroughs in deploying new vaccines and preventive measures against AIDS and other diseases. Here is an extraordinary example of a couple who have proactively decided to dedicate a significant part of their time, money and skills towards solving important problems that matter to the world.
Let me share a few stories that were a source of inspiration for me. The first story is one of an extra ordinary woman from Kenya. Her name is Wanagari Mathai. Thirty years ago, after earning her doctorate in the United States, Wangari along with a group of women, began a Tree planting effort to promote soil and water conservation in Kenya. In a few years time, this micro initiative and her model of soil and water conservation had become the hall mark for sustainable development, women empowerment and good governance and has grown into the 'Green Belt Movement, which has helped Kenyan women plant more than 30 million trees. Over the years, her model of conservation and community building has become the 'Pan African Green Network' and has now become the 'Green Belt Movement International', which seeks to plant one billion trees over the next decade. In the last few years, Wangari Mathai has also launched initiatives to promote waste reduction and increased recycling; to protect the endangered Congo Basin forest ecosystem; and to use conservation to help achieve the U.N Millennium Development Goals.
Wangari Mathai's story is a beacon of hope, for all those who are cynical about the impact that their actions can have on the world around us and is an inspiration for those who might underestimate their role as powerful agents of change.
Yet another story, which I want to share with all of you, is that of Oseola McCarthy from Mississippi, a woman from a humble background who did an extraordinary deed. Eighty eight year old Oseola had eked a living out of washing and ironing other peoples clothes for nearly seventy five years. She had never married and lived a very simple life with modest means. However, she saved up money through all the years of her working life and from the money she had saved; she gave a 150,000 dollars to endow a scholarship fund for African American students who need financial assistance.
Wangari Mathai's story had, in a way, inspired me to create an environmental initiative. The idea was simple. I would cycle along the length of India, for 4,100 kms, from Kanyakumari, the southernmost tip of India to the northernmost state – Kashmir. And, for the energy I burn, people from all over the world, from all walks of life can pledge to plant trees in support of the United Nations Environment Programme's Billion Tree Campaign. My objective in creating this initiative was simple – let us all come together to fight against one of the most pressing issues of our times by doing one simple thing – Planting a tree. For me, it was my way doing my bit for the environment. It was my way of saying – stop being cynical and start doing something. It was a way of telling myself, that it is better to light a candle than to complain about darkness. I thought it would be good way of asking people to GIVE their time and effort towards planting a tree.
The experience this initiative has given me has been wonderful. I have had the opportunity to meet people from various walks of life – from policy makers, farmers and truck drivers to management students and children who work in horrendous conditions in Dhaba's (road side eating joints for truck drivers).
This has been a journey, which has had a transformative effect on me. It was a journey which has enriched my life by the interactions that I have had with people. I met Santosh, a seven year old boy, who worked in a Dhaba near Agra. He told me that he worked from six in the morning till eleven in the night to make ends meet. He was paid a paltry sum of Rs 400/- for toiling hard all day. But, when I started talking to Santosh, I realized that there was something extraordinary about his enthusiasm. He was a seven year old kid who wanted to help educate his brother and his neighbour's daughter so that they didn't have to work in a Dhaba like him. After a brief interaction with him, he asked me not to talk to his employer, as he might loose his job and might not be able to educate his brother and neighbour's daughter. He said he had planted almost twelve trees – each tree for one member of his family.
In Guruvayor, near the temple, I met a man, who was very poor. He lived in a shack in the lane next to the temple. When I interacted with him and spoke to him of my environmental initiative, he literally jumped up and promised to plant trees, and added " It doesn't matter even if I have to skip a meal. I will plant two trees'. A month after, he called me and told me that he had indeed planted those trees.
I agree that not everyone will have the colossal resources comparable to the Gates' couple or the courage and determination to dedicate their entire life for a cause like Gandhi or Wangari did. But regardless of what our economic position is and what stage in life we are at, the fact is - we can still make a difference by sharing and GIVING a part of whatever we have – be it time, money, skills or Contacts to make a positive difference in our own right. The stories I had mentioned were the ones that demonstrate the triumph of the spirit of GIVING.
Imagine if we could come together as a network of citizen activists and take the responsibility to solve things ourselves. Imagine if we could in our own small capacity provide education to millions of children like Santosh, his brother and his neighbour's daughter – Imagine! If we are able to do that, the world will be place full of opportunities and optimism, especially for those who find it hard to find those opportunities. It is up to us to GIVE. It is up to us to make a positive difference.
Martin Luther King once famously said, "everyone can be great because everyone can serve". And, it is up to us to decide to do public service as private citizens. The answer lies with us and I am sure that we will come together to share the common bonds of humanity.
Thank You.
Shrenik,
Microsoft, 13th November 2008.
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Shrenik
http://www.shrenik.org/
