Making a difference

Today I met a well educated young women in her late 20s who came to see me at my office for some official transaction. After I heard from her, what she did for a living, I felt quite impressed and couldn't help sharing it here as I realised that she is one of those unique persons whom we rarely come across. I also came to know that there is something called a Gandhi Fellowship program offered by an NGO. I am not going to dwell about what this fellowship is all about. 

When every kid wants to pursue engineering or medicine or join leading institutes and get into well paying jobs, there are some who walk a different path to make a change in the life of others and she is one of them. They are really in small numbers which I realised are in 10s to be precise. What impressed me the most was that,as part of the fellowship program, she lived in a slum for one complete month with just two pairs of clothes and Rs.200 in the pocket. Nothing more and nothing less. She had to live like a slum dweller and experience everything by living as one. She had to work to eke her livelihood and earn money by doing some mean jobs that slum dwellers usually do. She opted to sell pani puri and earned her daily bread and also contributed to the family with whom she lived. The experience gave her a real perspective on life. 

Now the big question! How many can do that? It is going to help our society at large if each of our leaders are asked to  experience such situations before they can contest elections and for that matter anyone who wished to become a leader. It would help create more servant leaders and help change the current attitude of leaders who think that people are their servants. 

I wish more and more young men and women follow such paths and they are also taken care of monetarily to enable them to lead such exemplary life. Happy to have met one such person today.