Children are an inspiration world over

The US Department of State, US Consulate, last year selected me for an International Visitor Leadership Programme, a sponsored programme in the area of "NGO Management of Youth Programmes". Me and 10 other people running NGOs in India, Bangladesh, Nepal, Afghanistan and Pakistan are part of the programme. The programme aims to provide us a detailed exposure to the working of the US Government and its various departments, meeting NGOs offering programmes in Youth Development and a wholesome Cultural Experience.

Since July 2nd (when I landed in Washington DC), It has been a truly enriching and inspiring experience and there has been so much learning that I would have to actually write a book to capture everything. In a nutshell, I will share a few experience from the Dream A Dream perspective.

Youth Mapping, an organization that works with youth from vulnerable communities and involves them in community surveys. In the process building life skills in them. An inspiring project that can be integrated with our Dream Catchers programme. can you imagine, they use the unemployed youth to do surveys and find solutions to their neighbourhood problems..its a live project and in the process the youth pick up skills that will help them find excellent jobs.

Girls and Boys Club - A club working to do after school activities for children from poor communities. I saw the Dream Home in reality here. Played a game of connect with a bunch of very smart 5 yr black kids. Interacted and answered questions of some teenage children about children in India, problems of education, poverty, drug abuse and work of NGOs. Came out from the meeting, sharing my autograph with the kids and they promising to write a letter to the kids we work with India and maybe next year, doing a joint exchange programme. The possibilities are absolutely limitless.

Met Mr. Samuel Harpin, a veteran working on American Youth Policy. it was just an totally mesmerising experience to hear this veteran of over 35 years of experience and his work with the youth in the US. They have done such extensive research on the needs and aspirations of youth and created some brilliant life skills programmes. He was most willing to share all the programmes / manuals and curriculum with us and that's believe me a wealth of knowledge that we can tap into to improve our own Livelihood Programme.

Met an NGO called Special Olympics which are doing some ground-breaking work in including people with disabilities in sports. it was interesting to see how they have developed their donor database, nurtured it and built it over the years. They are present in more than 150 countries today supporting sports for people with disabilities. The lady promised to connect me with a few grant making organizations.

YES - Youth Exchange and Study programme that brings in young people from different countries to come and study for a year in the US completely sponsored by the government. Imagine the wealth of opportunities this could open out for some of the children because most children they sponsor come from vulnerable backgrounds..

All the above and more meetings were in Washington DC. Then, we moved to Tulsa, a small city in the state of Oklahoma in Central America and this has been the best part of my trip so far since I got a chance to actually meet and interact with young people.

Met Ms. Lynda Endres, a woman with a infectious passion in building volunteers for the Tulsa city community projects and guess what, these volunteers are children. They run a programme called Kids in Action for children under the age of 14 years who wish to volunteer and guess what, there are hundreds of children below 14 who are interested in volunteering. Met a 11 year old Noah who started volunteering at a Food Bank after he saw an ad of TV about a lot of hungry people. He was not allowed to volunteer because of his young age but he fought the system and he today runs an independent kids programme - kids who collect and donate food to the food Bank. A young girl called Tiffany who in her early teens saw that many poor children did not get a chance to go to their school prom because they could not afford new dresses, so she start an organization called prom wishes, where she collected old prom clothes, got sponsors to donate prom dresses and gave it to young children so that they could go for a prom, A very thoughtful initiative that has become a registered orgn. today which not only supplies dresses but also counsels / trains young teens about safe sex / abstinence / drunken driving / drug abuse which are common at a prom party...I mean this is such a brilliant medium...again great ideas and stories to make our dream catchers programme real strong...Lynda summed up the meeting saying...If just the adults to get out of the way of the children, children can change the world...Lynda has promised to mentor me develop this programme further, share all her resources and systems and also some of her passion :))))

met the Islamic Society of Tulsa - a ground breaking organization that is building bridges, interaction and tolerance among the youth for diverse religious communities..through camps, visits to places of worship and community talks..I could see they had done some remarkable work in they they spoke about their achievements and in the way the diverse communities have just come together and are living in harmony. A lot that we in India can learn from them about how the Muslims, Sikhs, Hindus, Christians and natives are coming together to make Tulsa a safe place to live in and for their children to grow up in. Its such an inspiring community initiative.

lastly today, we met a daily newspaper called Tulsa World. They are doing a phenomenal project whereby they get teenagers from high school to actually come out with a weekly supplement in their main paper. In over two hours of interacting with 4 15 year old..I was inspired by their ideas to change the world, to make young people in the US more proactive and interested in their communities. The girls write about problems and issues of teens and in the process have helped change a lot of attitudes of their parents. its awesome what such a simple idea can do and guess what they have over 80 school students volunteering to work in the paper at any given time...it just goes to show how many different ways there really exist to build skills among the youth and empower them. I hope Times of India is listening...

Its been a really long day today..but my mind is whirring with all the learning and I am so convinced that what we are trying to achieve at Dream A Dream is phenomenal and we should just keep doing it and do it right...

I will keep you people posted as I have another 10 days of meetings and inspiring experiences lined up. If you wish to read more about some of my cultural experiences...you can take a look at my blog...http://illusionsandironies.blogspot.com/

This international experience has become a life changing experience in my journey of life and I come back with a renewed rigour and passion to continue to weave dreams for millions of children. I need your support in this endeavour...so keep volunteering!!!

It is in our hands!

Lingamma and Meha, two 3-year olds who have been brightening up my mornings for more than a week now. Meha stands at the balcony and Lingamma stands at the mud mound below; every morning soaking in the colours, sounds and people of the morning. Both of them with sparkling wide eyes, full of life and excitement. Both of them fresh from the dreamy sleep of the night, talking a language of their own with the world.

Meha loves to shout out to the world – be it the vegetable vendor, the cars, the bikes and the occasional passerby – Ahoy! Ahoy! She goes in a language that none understand but everyone responds. She watches her grand-dad water the plants and is fascinated by the water forming a pool around her legs and making a waterfall from the drain-pipe on the balcony. She runs in and out of her house – happy and carefree.

Lingamma gets her bath by the roadside; cold and refreshing given to her by her 5-yr old sister. She splashes water around, wears her clothes of yesterday all excited that it’s her favourite frock. Sits on a granite slab and shares a meal with her 2-yr old brother and then starts her daily adventure by running up and down the small lane with speeding vehicles. She is careful though, her instincts to stay safe, alive and kicking protecting her. She rolls over the mud mound, picks up things that fascinate her from the road, throws them around and watches with amazement as the morning birds, insects and people move around.

Two very beautiful, happy, carefree and lovely children brighten up my day. One from the house from across my house another from the construction site next to my house.

Meha would possibly go to a good school, heavy school-bags, pressure of performance, make friends and have a normal development. Lingamma would probably move from one construction site to another, miss school, and make friends with other kids at construction sites.

I wonder how life would differ or be similar for these two lovely kids. I wonder what life has in store for them.

I wonder when kids in India would have a carefree, happy development with their Rights to Survival, Protection, Development and Participation held and met in equal measure without prejudice. It’s after all in our hands!!!

Seven Sisters Primary School

I visited the Seven Sisters Primary School, a government supported school but unique in its own way because it embraced and opened its arms for children from all nationalities, religions and ethnicity. I got the opportunity and privilege to visit the school through an other friend who was going to do a story-telling project with 9-year olds at the school.

The first thing that hit me when I entered the school was the variety of colours of humans / children that I saw. Smiling blacks, browns and whites :). I was surprised to see that no one was surprised to see me - a brown coloured Indian for lack of a better term.

The second thing that hit me was how close the school looked to my Dream Home. Colourful classes, wide benches, trees, graffiti, playgrounds, art rooms, etc. Oh! In my life-time, I want as many Dream Homes for children as the number of years left in my life.

The children were from all over the world - Indian, Pakistanis, Bangladeshis, Iranian, from Mauritius, Africa, and from UK too. They spoke lovely english and were very intelligent. The story was long and in parts difficult and boring. Over 12 pages long, even I dozed off for 10 Mins but the children participated actively in the discussion afterwards and came up with some really smart comments on the story. The children were enthusiastic and did not hesitate to speak up, to share their opinions, to agree or disagree. I saw some lovely life skills at work. The most beautiful aspect was that they were not conscious that each of them came from different backgrounds, countries and cultures. It was truly diversity at work.

Such an entralling experience it was to be surrounded by children from such diverse abckgrounds and all under one roof. I wish the larger world outside could become like that.

I walked away trying to remember 20 names but managed just a few - Akram, Natasha, Gorken, Ridwan, Manya, Jodie. All ,ovely children who in that 2 hours taught me about love, togetherness and life skills. I came away more certain than ever, that the Dream Home will happen.

Immigration Challenges in UK

22:54 Hours, Hotel Park Plaza, Leeds, UK - I am at the 15th floor room of my Hotel at Park Plaza in Leeds and the city looks splurged with lights from its buildings - like stars of all hues have descended on this lovely city. The view is spectacular and quiet tonight. Last night was a riot as the whole town was on the streets because of a Holiday today. But, today it is quite and the slight chill adds to the eerie quietness.

BBC1 just concluded a thought-provoking documentary on emigration profiling two polish people who emigrated for work and better oportunities to England. Against the backdrop of some soulful polist music their stories unraveled the pain, suffering and loneliness of the hundreds emigrants that i have come across in my few days here - asians, east europeans, africans, caribbeans. I see the same loneliness, the blank looks and the sadness in their faces as they work their way in restaurants, stores, super-markets and bars.

I just got back from a lovely cuban dinner of Tapas at Cuba Viva and the young, drop-dead gorgeous lady serving us was having a bad day at work. She tried to explain in her highly accented polish english that she was not supposed to come in today but had to and she is new here, so having difficulty understanding the northern accent, etc. I just wanted to get up and hug her and tell her she was doing just fine and was being a good waiter. I didn't.

After that unsettling experience at Cuba Viva, watching the documentary helped me make sense of the loneliness, frustration and anxiety possibly felt by many emigrants in this developed country.

Challenges of low wages, unorganized sector, having to do many jobs to make ends meet, not having a family, having to move from city to city to seek stable jobs and struggling with language, stress and sometimes even crime and abuse - it must indeed be tough on many emigrants.

I dont have solutions but I know something can be done and I let this entry remain unfinished as my thoughts lingers on some possible solutions.

Making a Difference

"I want to make a difference!", said my friend today when I asked her what is she passionate about. The sentence resonated with me and took me back a few years when as a young 21-year old, the same statement burnt like a undying flame in my heart. "I want to make a difference!" and suddenly it all became very clear to me.

Making a difference happens in the small everyday things and moments of our life and not it a larger than life goals with set for ourselves. Making a difference happens when that person also leaves a deep positive impact on us. hence, its always an exchange of equals and it is always a barter of giving and receiving at both ends.

As I shared these thoughts with my friend, they rang loud and clear in my head and I had suddenly articulated a thought that had been in my head for long. I felt alive and rejuvenated. The beauty of this statement that had defined my passion and my friend's too dawned on me.I looked at all the moments when a person makes a difference in my life and I in theirs. The gentleman who comes to serve tea/coffee to our office. His smile, his eccentricities, his "Good Morning Sir" brightens up my day and makes a difference to my life. The acknolwedgement, love and warmth that he gets in our office makes a difference to his life.

I make a difference when I smile at a stranger on road, sometimes leaving him with a weird quizzical look but I am sure his heart is smiling for connecting with mine. Sometimes when I get a smile back, oh wow - it makes my day.

Discovering USA - 1st November to 1st December 2010

30 days. 1^st November to 1^st December. What a trip it has been. It was a rush when I started the trip and it took every ounce of my energy and sought every spare bead of motivation I have ever had in me. It demanded the very best from me at all times and pushed me to my mental, physical and emotional limits. Landed in Cleveland after a gruelling 24 hour journey and without even time to overcome my jetlag, I was all set for my first set of meetings with a Prof. From a college and a presentation to a group of 10-14 years at a local school. Wow! That's a beginning I thought. Next, College of Wooster – A beautiful college set in the small town of Wooster, meetings with professors, classes, networking with the administration, public talks, and dinners and finally ending up with a lunch with the BIG People of Cleveland. Managed to even squeeze in a quick tour of the college, watching a field hockey game, doing a ropes course and even going to the Village of the very weirdly popular Amish. Prof. Moledina deserves a big thank you for getting me to the US and ensuring I managed to start my trip with a Bang! 

A weekend in Milwaukee with lovely friends, which involved just a whole lot of driving to Chicago and everywhere else, getting introduced to WII and Netflix and off I was to Boston. Boston – My favourite city no doubt and Arjun Dugal had set the stage for me. Meetings, lots of them, Talks – quite a few of them, even a session for a class at Harvard and a very successful Dream Evening to moot. Interspersed with a night of clubbing until the wee hours of morning, I knew I was pushing my limits. The large fundraising Gala was an eye-opener with the wealth that existed in the Indian Diaspora and also reflections on the "Dance of the Wealth" – Why the wealthy give only when they spend a lot and a lot more to raise that money. The homeless on the streets surprised me, wanted to talk to each of them and come up with an idea to get them off the streets. The public libraries amused me as they were mostly filled with the homeless escaping the bitter cold outside and getting some warm place to sleep. I wondered if a country like America even deserved the homeless on the streets and wondered how societies across the world continue to be insensitive to the needs of their own communities in their backyards. A panel discussion on Startup Leadership had me standing alone on the ethics of entrepreneurial ventures amidst talks of VC funding, buy-outs, becoming millionaires and finding cofounders through a scientific formula connected to valuations. I sat there, wondering whatever happened to trusting someone to start something new with you, whatever happened to the love for a new idea, for solving a problem, for creating a world-class business, for creating a legacy. Whatever happened to the "Pursuit of Greatness" that prompted great human beings to embark on risky businesses staking their all? 

Spending time with Year Up, Peace First, and Big Brother-Big Sister Program was a validation of the depth of quality and thought that we had in our work with children. 5 years back when I attempted to meet BBBS, we were too small for them and they didn't want to meet us. This time around, they wanted to learn from us and this was validation of the work we have put in to make our programs truly world-class. Year-up was a program that spoke to me from the heart, it had DreamConnect all over it and I believed this is the program that the youth in India strongly needed and needed fast. 

I was truly humbled by the support that Arjun, Neha, Aman, Karina, Aamir, Mike gave – from helping me build connections, helping me meet people and for just looking out for me and ensuring I was well taken care of. Especially Arjun and Neha, who worked all day and spent all evening coming for meetings with me, discussing ideas with me, giving me strategies and also making me smile. I remember Arjun and myself walking out of the Harvard class and while we were both physically very tired, there was a jump in our step, a pride in our gait and as we looked at each other we smiled and acknowledged the journey that we have embarked upon with 10 others and where that journey had taken our dream. We felt proud, happy and content. We graciously accepted each other's acknowledgement. 
I have to mention Raj Melville – The man, the connector – He sent out nearly 20-25 emails introducing me to people all over the US and getting me meetings from anyone to everyone. He reached out and told me, you are doing well, keep doing it and we will stand by you. 

I was still reeling under the after-effects of Boston and DC hit me with a vengeance. The people in DC were all out to prove to me that DC can do better than Boston and they came very very close to beating Boston. A Brown Bag at Global Giving, Global Fund for Children and Ashoka was all that was needed to get me going again. Starting at 6 am, my first day in DC went on till 1 am and that set the trend for the rest of the week. A panel discussion with 2 other Ashoka Fellows for the staff of Ashoka was enough to send me on a nostalgic, emotionally charged, reflective journey of my life as a leader, as an individual and as a social entrepreneur. The panel had a 32-year old me, a 40-year old and a 50-year old and what fascinated me was how our journeys have been so similar and how uncannily we had to meet today, now when we were going through the same reflections and questions with our inner self. 

Another super successful Dream Evening thanks to Raj and Smita Trivedi who went out of their way to make it happen for Dream A Dream in less than a week. It was phenomenal to see how people would turn up at the end of a busy work-day just because they believed, they wanted to help and support. What's more, I also ran into an old-timer from Dream A Dream and suddenly felt very much at home with her support by my side. DC would not have happened without the support of Raj and Smita, my angels and Roshan who so graciously gave me his place to stay and Usha – a very special person who I connected with on Food, Travel and community work. When she was keen to show me the sights of DC, I told her – I want to understand why there is poverty here and what is one doing to change things. She took me to a Central Kitchen where families come to feed the poor and homeless. Good, cooked, healthy food. Families serve the homeless and also sit with them; children included, and eat the same food. While, I was humbled with seeing this sensitivity, I came away very disturbed thinking, If I ever had to beg for good, live on the streets, eat from a central kitchen – would I be able to? Is there dignity in poverty? Do we continue to let poverty exist and thrive so we can feel important and worthy about ourselves? 

DC was also a place for some old connections, meeting an old-time Dream A Dream volunteer, reconnecting with Ashoka and its inspiring staff, meeting an old school-mate whom I had not met for 16 years and reconnecting with old friends from the US. Food was big on the agenda in DC as I tried Ethiopian, experimented with Japanese and Chinese new cuisine, Spanish tapas and Sangria and the super traditional American Chilli Hot Dog and finally finishing off with a traditional all American brunch. Managed to capture an interactive play called "Shear Madness" at the renowned Kennedy Center before I dashed off the San Jose on the West Coast.

San Jose was completely unlike DC or Boston, a small town set amidst mountains in a beautiful valley; it was stunningly beautiful but completely inaccessible without your own transport. Guneet Singh Bedi was my knight in shining armour taking me to all my meetings and being the man-Friday ensuring it was worth my while to have travelled thousands of miles. He went out of his way to again open doors for me with interested companies, individuals, and also a talk at Berkeley. This was interspersed with meeting an old AIESEC friend and her lovely 2-month old bundle of joy, meeting old Dream A Dream volunteers, spending the thanksgiving evening at the only open Indian restaurant and staying up all night for the infamously popular Black Friday sale after Thanksgiving. I had also come to my journey's end and also my strength was giving way. The sense of wanting to be back in India amongst friends, colleagues and family was creeping in, the overbearing realization that the work has just started and I need to very quickly follow-up on all my meetings to ensure we don't lose the momentum and that there was a lot I had to remember about my trip was completely over-whelming me. I forgot to call a few people I was supposed to meet, I forgot a scheduled meeting and I was sleeping less and less. Guneet came to my rescue with some amazing drives in his classic convertible and a day spent amongst wineyards at the very stunning Napa Valley trying out different kinds of wines. It helped me relax my senses and let go for a day. 

It was time to go back. But, not yet. My last leg was supposed to be a winding down 3-days with friends and family at Milwaukee and Chicago. Ended up being super hectic with catching up on work from India and more meetings at Chicago. A visit to Kellog School of Management for a potential partnership and a final push presentation at Asha, Chicago is all that my soul could take and I was done!! Catching with a Dream A Dream first employee - a very dear personal friend and an inspiring colleague; spending time with cousins and their adorable 4 yr old was just what the doctor had ordered to ensure I survive the last 2 days. 
The trip has been that of a breakneck speed juggernaut, of not letting go of opportunities, of reaching out to people, of sharing a dream – a million times over and of going back to believing in what I have always believed in. People across the world are wonderful and want to help; all it takes is to reach out with honesty and with your heart. 

It has been a tough one-month but I feel blessed that even across the seas, there are people who believe in what we do, who believe in us and who really want to reach out in their own ways – small and big. My body feels battered, my mind is numb but my spirit seems rekindled with the "Power of One"! Sometimes, when I have felt empty inside or lonely, I look back at the people who have being with me through this whole month and I don't feel alone again. 

I feel blessed! Thank you all who made this happen.

Honour

Call me an Idealistic fool or a Naïve person but words like Honour and Commitment to one's word are values I grew up with and values that I chose to embrace. As I child, of all the values that were presented to me, a few stuck more than others and Honour was one of them. I remember my Grandmother telling me stories of my Grandfather that for him, Honour and keeping his word were more paramount even at the expense of great personal sacrifice to him. More recently I remember my dad sharing with me stories of his dad and how he honoured every commitment he made. Even in difficult times, he would skip a meal but keep his commitment to a debtor or a poor man he fed or a poor family he supported.

Of all the values that life offered me, I was drawn towards the stories of people who lived their life on the commitments they made, in most cases verbal and that was enough.

As I reconcile to the decision we took yesterday, I do so with a very deep sense of pain and loss that I did not stand by my values and that I let me values down. I kept thinking of an intelligent reason to make the decision work for me. However, the only reason that still remains is that I would like to honour my commitments. I am deeply pained that Honour was  chosen to be important if it was a donor but not important if its a consultant and I wonder if Honour can be discriminated based on who it is for. I wonder how a consultant, also a human being, is not an important enough person to  honour our commitment to but a donor is. I wonder how we chose to differentiate?

With a deep sense of pain, I accept this decision because most important of all I did not chose to stand by my values. For 14 years, the organization and me have not been separate and I realize that they never will be because we have each shaped the other and our values have been deeply intertwined. To be told now that I am naïve to mix my personal values and equations with the organization is being naïve is new, confusing and disrupting to me. In the objective world, it is probably right but in my world, my personal has always been my political.

I accept the decision because I failed to stand for myself. I failed to just say that it has been because of my personal values and my personal approach to building an organization that both me and this organization stand tall today. The world might accuse me of any flaws but can never accuse me of having values different from the organization or vice-versa.

I wonder when I will find the strength to stand for what I believe. I wonder if words/commitments have no meaning in this world anymore. I wonder if values can be distinguished between the rich, so called important donor and a not so important consultant - that one becomes more important in our exercise of honour and the other doesn't (that we can pay off someone's deep sense of commitment to the cause as a not so important effort). I wonder if I will ever find the courage to stand for and break this dual value system in my world or if I will be a perpetual failure.

I don't think I will ever be able to give my word to anyone ever again.

Moved my Poetry to a New Blog

Hi Friends,

I have decided to move my poetry and keep it in a new blog - http://mysoulstirring.blogspot.in/. Do follow me there.

Thank you,
Vishal