Last month I got a Facebook post in which someone has posted a Tamil Newspaper article about a girl who was looking for financial help for her higher studies. This girl has scored 1121 out of 1200 in +2 examinations. She lost her father during her childhood. She worked part time during her +2 and was still able to score a good percentage. Her phone number was also mentioned in the article.
There are times when most of us would have seen such messages and have either ignored or blindly forwarded to others. We may think that our duty is over once we forward it. If anyone really wants to help, they will do so after reading the forward message. And the message may blindly get forwarded or ignored by everyone else. But what if you know for sure that a given information you got is true and you have a chance to help such a person ?
I'm sure everyone would have felt better when we have helped someone in the past and saw their real expression which truly comes from their heart. I've been helped by different people during my childhood. I have always felt each one of them made a difference in my life. My parents were in a position to support for my studies. I'm not sure if I would be enjoying the current life style if I was born in a poor family and was given no education. Possibly not. That makes me feel that I'm also responsible to help out those people who are really in need of such help.
So, instead of blindly sharing the post, I wanted to make sure that the article was indeed intended to be true and the contact number was right. So I called up the number and spoke to the girl and asked about the details in the Newspaper. She said that she was really looking for help to continue with her higher studies. I mentioned that I will verify the details mentioned in the newspaper article and, if they turn out to be true, will be helping her. For the benefit of others who can't read Tamil, I translated the Newspaper article in English and posted this in Facebook last month.
I went to Coimbatore last week and met her well-wisher 'Mrs. Yamni' to verify those details. Her well-wisher confirmed that the girl has got admission in PSG college and joined B.com First year. For the time being, Mrs. Yamni has paid the fee of Rs.36,200(I checked the bill) to the college so that this girl doesn't have to waste an year without enough financial support. Mrs. Yamni was able to collect Rs.21,000 through her contacts and also from the volunteers who sponsored after seeing the Newspaper article. The remaining Rs.15000 is yet to be recovered.
Note: I've removed the Facebook post about the Newspaper article from my timeline as the post had some phone numbers. Also, the girl's classmates may potentially see this article. It may be uneasy for the girl if their friends are aware of her financial situation. That is the reason I didn't mention the name of the girl in this article.
Mrs. Yamni showed me the bills and marksheets of other students she is supporting the last few years. She is interested in social service and has been doing it for the last few years. She is looking for volunteers to help her out in such initiatives.
There are times we all think about helping out the people who are really in need of help. But we may not be sure if they really deserve the help or just making money out of our sympathy. There are times we think of finding a proper channel to extend a helping hand to those deserving humans. I believe Mrs. Yamni is potentially one such channel.
I also got a couple of calls from BalaJothi(http://balajothi.org/). It is a center for the disabled. The volunteers who called me said, "These children are not orphans and have a family. Some of them are differently abled and some are mentally challenged. Some of them are not even in a position to realize that they are being helped by people like us. This center helps them out by sponsoring wheel chairs, providing insurance etc to the differently abled". I haven't visited this place yet. I have told the volunteers that I will visit the place once and help them out if I am convinced with their non-profit organization. I'll be visiting this place soon. If it turns out to be a genuine non-profit organization, we can definitely help them out even if it is a minor contribution.
Please contact me(comment in this post, send me a mail or call me) if any of you are interested to be part of this. You can also reach me if you know of anyone who is GENUINELY in need of help. I may not be able to solve everyone's problem. But I will pass on the word to others who may be able to help.
TOGETHER WE CAN MAKE A DIFFERENCE :-)
