Giving back

We have had a bit of down time and reflection lately, and our latest group discussion took place on the beach during an afternoon of fun at a wonderfully relaxing beach resort.  For the last several days, we have visited a lot of Non-government organizations (NGOs - like non-profits) that work toward the MDGs of empowerment of women and primary education for children.  These are the heart breaking, yet full of hope, stories you have read about with Mobile Crushes, Katha, and Ashram Orphanage.  I will be adding several more when the opportunity arises.

Our discussion has focused on what the organizations are getting from us.  We are not here to do charity, so we have not been making monetary donations.  We have been giving small gift bags with pencils, books, bracelets, key chains, etc.  However, our primary goal is to see ow these organizations are attempting to make a dent in India's pledge to meet the MDGs on time.

We were asked by the project coordinator Aditi, "What are we giving back to these organizations?"  Many group members feel that we have left these organizations wanting.  Some felt that it seemed they were looking for us to invest a large amount of funds, and they felt bad for not giving financial donations.  Others felt that spending time with the children just loving on them is a treat that they will remember for a long time to come.  Even more felt that making connections with group leaders and women will ultimately lead them to "give back" once we arrive back home.

Here is my take on it...
Through globalization, the world will eventually realize that India's problems are actually global problems.  These burdens are not for India to bear alone.  Otherwise, India's potential role in the global society will never be fully, or even partially, realized.  The best way we, the teachers on the Fulbright grant, can give back is to educate students year after year.  By teaching our students problem solving methods that have shown success on a small scale, the more foundation we give them to transfer these skills to a larger global setting in the future.  The challenge to teaching these skills will be to do it with empathy.  There is not "one solution" that will be able to address these problems, and the American way of addressing some problems (particularly universal primary education) will not work for the people of India.  Our students must be empathetic, they must learn the reality that India faces in order to begin to address issues on India's scale in ways that will actually work.

I hope that makes sense, and I invite all educators reading this blog to think about it.  Of course, another way we can give back is by posting about all these organizations for readers to read about.  Some readers out there are capable of donating some finances to these organizations.  If you are one of them, keep reading about all of them to see which one touches you most.  Then, follow the link that I provide to learn more about how you can get involved.