Just a way of life!

Something crossed my mind a couple of months back when I first learnt about this NGO from my neighbor – Human life cycle care, social impact, Dementia awareness, fun with a cause etc  – all of it got jumbled and was lost in my routine of Job hunt, cooking, driving classes, groceries, home, son, husband - my personal priorities of course.

As I was an above average student in school, back home, everyone’s expectations were I would end up doing a high paid job. An early marriage did not allow me to even explore that option. Now with my nine-year-old son’s dependency on me, significantly reduced, the hunt began.

I had loads of energy and I channelized it by teaching in a school for six months for free, voluntarily running a Library in our residential complex Park to inculcate reading habit in all residents and ensure children’s cyber well being. As volunteers, we did not bear any infrastructure cost nor charged any reading fee but just utilized our own book collection and leveraged my personal furniture.

Recently we were all part of Green Initiative where we planted around 50 saplings in and around our complex, which seemed like a celebration and it was heartening to watch how involved the children were by being the first one to be around, planting, tapping mud, sprinkling water, carrying sapling to the proposed place to assist a senior plant it.

Again couple of weeks before that we had pot luck lunch that was arranged for fun on a neighbor’s birthday, however it was aimed to be a platform for greater good – A platform to exchange services that neighbors were willing to offer - Interiors of a house, tutor children, Day Care or Language learning, acquire new skills like embroidery or avail parlor or tailoring or catering services. A potential business model if one invests in a website with this data of available services from every residential complex in this belt, charge a nominal fee for inserting every new business or service in the site – which could be so useful for the residents in this layout and support upcoming entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, a start up school engaged my services and after I got my first salary, I remembered exactly what had crossed my mind when I first heard about the NGO – I will sponsor at least something for RSF whenever I can.

I am yet to know what all they do.  While Dementia awareness is their core theme (I heard about Dementia for the first time from a member of this NGO), they are enthusiastic about anything that drives social impact – Library, Green Initiative, Career counseling, getting funds for a school and does not matter who coordinates or conducts it. They do not belong to Stick-for-a-click clan where a person/ organization/ celebrity sticks to a cause which ends with just a click - photograph, they do not use high-sounding slogans  – Save a child, “Giving” is a chemical formula, profitability with social justice, pause for a cause – they just make caring for the society your way of life. Human Life Cycle Care does make sense now. It just makes you a little selfless.

And being able to sponsor the badges, I am not creating any impact for RSF – I am the impact.

Shilpa Shreeharsha is a teacher in an English Medium School situated in the suburbs of Bangalore, an avid reader and an enthusiast for social good.