Charity or Empowerment?

Charity or Empowerment? Are charitable donations to feed and house the poor really the way out of the mire of poverty or do NGOs need to focus more on skill development? Should we as donors be more proactive rather than merely donating money? #CharityorEmpowerment


NGOs (Non Governmental Organisations) are set up by very motivated and driven people, who want to bring about definite social-economic-political-ecological changes in society. As far as this thoughtful topic goes, there are four possibilities in my opinion:

(a) Charity
(b) Empowerment
(c) Empowerment through charity
(d) Charity through empowerment

(a) Charity:

Situational: This sense of 'only charity' is seen in most disaster situations, where various NGOs step in to distribute people's donations of clothes, shoes, blankets etc.. Much needed.
Charity as objective: However, there are also NGOs set up to do only charity as an organisation. In this case also, it helps the most destitute in immediate terms like NGOs taking care of leprosy patients, mentally-challenged, orphans, old widows, drug addicts or other such socially-isolated groups. Such people may not be able to be productive even if skills are taught due to inherent physical/mental/emotional weaknesses.

Kingdom's Heir

The King on a pedestal,

The Queen behind a veil,

Yet in the confines of privacy,

Where all barriers fail,

Their bodies and souls unite-

An event the Gods hail.

The Kingdom's Heir will be born,

A powerful Daughter or Son.

All will rejoice as,

People don't upon gender frown.

Either the Son will rule,

Or the Daughter shall wear the Crown!

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**Linking to ABC Wednesday (Letter 'K' for King, Kingdom)

Just about Finding Fanny

Finding Fanny is a movie released yesterday starring five great Indian actors. It is about a quest for Love. A quest for your Self really. A mad ride of five people in a vintage car to look for the beloved of one of them. How their lives get enmeshed deeper, how they face their long-buried tragedies after their car's petrol gets over, how they find refined versions of themselves, starting from the small village of Pokoli in Goa, can be seen from the movie. One of the five, Angie (Deepika Padukone) is the narrator and tells us not to 'find Pokoli' coz we won't even get it- it's such a small non-descript village! Still I tried using 'Google Guru'- and found it looks like name of a hispanic video game...:P...with an image like this:

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Well, so it IS a fictional village, yet so real as the movie portrays it! And of course, the controversy surrounding the use of the word 'fanny'. 'What's in a name?' Shakespeare said. And I say- it's artistic freedom. Glad the Court held this verdict too!

Stefanie 'Fanny' Fernandes is a girl Fernando loved 46 years ago and still loves- he's still in a time warp- seeing her exactly the same way in his thoughts and dreams.

Indian PM interacts with India's Future

PM Modi has done it again. This time he has reached a new target audience- lakhs of school students across India. He has inspired them. Such interactions are needed more often. Indeed, the PM has to be a leader, an inspirer so that our nation can surge ahead. Glad that we have a PM who fully realises this.

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Things that I especially liked in the interaction:

a) Sharing his notorious childhood activities. It was unexpected!

b) The Nagpur example: On full moon nights, how to connect with the heavenly environment? Simply switch off the streetlights and let the people enjoy the natural beauty of the romantic night!

c) Read. Read whatever and how much ever you can. Read even from the newspaper packet in which pakodas(hot crispy snacks made of gramflour) are served. [Sadly, nowdays they give in polluting polythenes only. He should have driven that message too- STOP USING THOSE POLYTHENE BAGS]

Halt those pearls

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That piercing pain,

That crashing feel,

Those clouded eyes,

And tears reel.

Tears reel,

Till an eternity,

And then a moment comes,

When they halt.

They halt,

Within the limits of eyes,

And pain gives way,

To new vigour.

New vigour,

Which sets you out to achieve,

The Impossible.

The Unlimited.

*Linking this with letter 'H' of ABC Wednesday.