A Portion of Thyself.......

Someone had said “The only gift is a portion of Thyself”.

Project Rainbow is the name of the initiative taken by HLL with the help of Doorstep school, an NGO working towards informal education of street and slum children.

Few workshops were planned to teach the kids some life enhancing skills like card making, lamp painting, paper lantern making and making paper bags. Just to help them earn a decent livelihood.

The initial response from volunteers was overwhelming. About 40 of them had confirmed their willingness to contribute to the cause in any way they can. Well, all we had to do was spend some time with these kids, to make them aware of a better way of living, about hygiene, about the country of their birth and its culture. Was it asking for too much??

Yes, it seems like it was very difficult to make time for someone in today’s fast paced life, especially when there is not much for you to gain. So only 5 of us reached the venue of the programme.

And friends, was I in for a surprise?!! You bet!! Though these children lack in formal education, they are rich with experiences that they have learnt from life at such a young age. They were a bunch of bright and enthusiastic kids, innocent and honest, eager to learn and absorb.

All the kids were given a kit consisting of card paper, gold and silver colour pens, stencils and crayons and were encouraged to use their creative skills to make a Diwali Greeting Card….M F Hussians in the making ;-) heh heh. It went off well except for one boy of six who was so fascinated with the glue stick that he went on cutting every piece of paper he could lay his hands on and sticking them on the card paper…..finally I took over and did his card for him ;-)

Each one of the kids had a dream, to reach somewhere. Some wanted to be Doctors, some Engineers, some Policemen and some Teachers and yet some wanted to be Actors. One cute little girl wanted to be Preity. Yes, Priety Zinta. I have no doubt that she can and she will be an Actress like Priety Zinta, maybe a better one. She has equally cute dimples, you see ;-)

The most important lesson I learnt that day was that these kids not only need monetary support but also love and acceptance of our society. Touch their cheek, ruffle their hair or just smile at them and see them glow with happiness.

So friends, lets try and contribute towards upliftment of these kids, the future of our country, in any way we can. But remember, the best gift would be “A PORTION OF YOURSELF”.

This poem I had read somewhere sums it up so beautifully.....

Today I smiled and all at once
Things didn't look so bad.
Today I shared with someone else,
A bit of hope I had.

Today I sang a little song
And felt my heart grow light,
And walked a happy little mile,
With not a cloud in sight.

Today I worked with what I had
And longed for nothing more,
And what had seemed like only weeds,
Were flowers at my door.

Today I loved a little more
And complained a little less,
And in the giving of myself,
I forgot my weariness