The impact of the memory bag!

The new set of barbie dolls, the new car toy by hot wheels, the new jeans and a pair of tees, a beautiful new pink skirt, the new 99 in 1 TV Video Game Disk, the happiness in having the first scoop of the Butterscotch Icecream from the Baskin Robbin's, the ecstacy riding alone in your first ever cycle with shimano gears, the fun you had in seasoning the new cricket bat and more of these might just be a memory now.

The time you lived as a kid, under the guiding arms of your parents and your family, enjoying all the fun stuff fresh and new surely does puts a smile on the face.

There are a few kids who are building up their memories as i am writing this and eventually when you will be reading this too. And when they grow up to be like you and I, what they will have in their memory bag is a pair of torn jeans and an oversized t-shirt, used hotwheels car without the wheel in the top-right corner, a cute little barbie doll without the hair-do and a shoe, a cricket bat without the grip and the bottom shaved off always kept in a corner only to be seen, an old CRT TV which was put on only for the news in the evening, and happily greeting lot of unknown people who showed sympathy day in and day out everyday, the sight of a parent feeding its cute little kid with icecream, and lots of such things which carries happines along with it but the child derives happiness imagining it. 

There are an estimated 153,000,000 orphans worldwide. Some of these orphans have lost one parent, some both, and some are "virtual" orphans that have been turned out onto the streets by their families, but all are vulnerable and in need of help. Without assistance these orphans continue in the cycle of poverty, HIV/AIDS, trafficking, prostitution and slavery that haunts developing countries. (Source: http://www.worldorphans.org/)

Okay, irrespective of the accuracy in the figure, it is very clear that there is a problem and there are people, very kind and generous people, trying to eradicate this problem. There is a positive force on the job. Its good. Its hopeful.The memory bag of the underprivileged child is getting filled. But the question is, what is being filled?

While we enjoyed owning all the good stuff first hand and new, this group of kids who are striving hard for a stable and a good future are getting to enjoy only the used stuff and getting to eat what is left over. Shouldn't we be affected by it? Think about the moral impact this has on the underprivileged kid during its development phase, when there are kids around growing happily under parental guidance.

Growing up the underprivileged kid feels it is good only for the second hand and for what is left-over.

We understand that such donations in kind cannot be stopped. The shelter homes cannot afford to satisfy all these with new stuff. It has to depend on what is given/ donated. But  ain't we grooming a whole lot of young people treating them as second grade citizens?

We have a job in hand to ensure that the kid is morally stable and positive. There should be no indifference created and assumed by such kids themselves. The memory bag has to be levelled out to drive out the indifference.This is a problem to be solved and this is our standpoint.

We are young! We are Responsible!

With so many opportunities and with awareness and the acccess to information increasing everyday, every minute, it is quite understandable that individually we are becoming a lot self-centric. The inner circle which comprised of parents, family and friends is also now reducing sharply in radius. You cannot compel them for doing something good for the society. The best way to help the society is to help yourself. But how one does that, is where the core of the societal development lies. There has to be some moral responsibility tagged along with whatever we do. If we want to see a change, then we should be aware that we have the maximum role to play in effecting it. Seldom do we participate and more often end up cribbing poiniting fingers at others. One can easily comprehend the current level of trust in our leaders. It is hard to believe and rest all our hopes on them. And this is where we go a bit lethargic. We so want to rest our hopes to see a change and do nothing about it. The whole situation is perplexed and complicated. We negotiate with the traffic police from 100 rupees to 50 rupees for not wearing the helmet, just to avoid your Driving License being booked. When we all are so perturbed about the situation around, and pointing fingers; well, we need to introspect properly and understand where the problem actually is. If you have realized that it is on you to effect the change you wish to see, rather it is on you to initiate or participate in a process for change, then what are you waiting for. Stand up, be logical, express, participate and effect.

"Kaleido Standpoint" will be a space to discuss and put forward our viewpoint on several issues that we come across. This is not and never will be a platform for blind political fanatiscm, rather we might discuss about governance in the established framework. This is not and never will be a platform to crib and point fingers for a solution, rather we might share a solution for an issue that matters. This is not and never will be a platform for religious bias, rather we might discuss various cultures and social inclusion in the most liberal way. This is not and never will be considered as a tool to come up with a solution to any social issue, rather it is just a platform to express our Standpoint on issues that matter.

Partcicpating in community level development activities, Kaleido is now inspired more to effect a change. We believe, we have understood the way to bring about a social change and are on our way towards it. We are fed up of looking at pointing fingers, with loosing hope. We are fed up of opinions. We have no time to crib. We are not so dumb to agree upon and enjoy the colourful shit that is being thrown at us. We are young, we are responsible. We will ensure that the change is brought about now, this time.