I saw something on Tuesday that I don't think I would have seen anywhere else. And to be honest I don't think I would have seen it here in India.
We were waiting at a red light to go to class, when in the background I heard an ambulance siren. Nothing out of the ordinary really, the siren was anyway being drowned out by the honking. Normally people would, you know, move out of the way of an oncoming ambulance going reasonably above the speed limit. But seeing as this is India, there was little to no space for people to move out of the way.
So basically a man got out of his car and started moving towards the people first in line. This guy looked really, really angry, like he was about to beat on some people. I had my phone ready to film/take pictures (thanks social media for promoting people to film everything and everywhere) because I was 100% sure this guy was going to end up blocking traffic by causing an argument.
BUT NO.
Instead, he was yelling at people to make a path available for the ambulance to go through! And it actually worked. People actually moved out of the way! They listened to reason and decided to not be complete pains! It turns out that this ambulance came a massive distance to reach this one hospital.
People who live in villages often don't have access to hospitals with the latest and newest equipment so the doctors in those villages give referrals to doctors in the bigger cities.
As I felt that that was an act of kindness, I decided to dedicate this post to something else that is dear to my family, namely my mothers' NGO: URJA- Energy.
Urja in Hindi/Sanskrit means Energy. Originally the aim of this NGO was to provide electricity to Siswa Bazaar, my family's ancestral village. Then the aim of the game expanded to include the villages in and around Maharajganj District, a district on the border with Nepal. Currently the electricity plans are working to the point where they are self-sufficient and thus can be considered a success. Another item on the agenda is women empowerment, something that is relevant to not only India, but the rest of the world as well. Even in "advanced" places like Belgium and the United States. The latest project is installing libraries. This has been quite a challenge as the basic structures are lacking to begin with. So even getting a few books hasn't been as easy as one-two-three.
The thing is, India has a lot of NGO support from all over the world. So much so that India now has been sending NGO support to other, more dependent countries. But the problem is that the current NGO's are all located in the south of India, leaving north India to fend for itself.
So now we're here. Though financial help is always appreciated, how about starting of by informing yourself about this NGO, and then you can decide for yourself how exactly you feel like you can contribute. Right now we're looking for books. Preferably in English or any Indian language.
This is the website: http://www.urja-energy.org/
And our e-mail address: urjaforenergy@gmail.com
We're also on Facebook at Urja-Energy where we regularly post our latest accomplishments and upcoming goals.
If you're in high school and looking for an extra-curricular, contact us.
If you're in college and looking for something that will make you feel good, contact us.
If you're an adult and working, give us money. (No but in all seriousness, please do contact us.)
http://www.urja-energy.org/
We were waiting at a red light to go to class, when in the background I heard an ambulance siren. Nothing out of the ordinary really, the siren was anyway being drowned out by the honking. Normally people would, you know, move out of the way of an oncoming ambulance going reasonably above the speed limit. But seeing as this is India, there was little to no space for people to move out of the way.
So basically a man got out of his car and started moving towards the people first in line. This guy looked really, really angry, like he was about to beat on some people. I had my phone ready to film/take pictures (thanks social media for promoting people to film everything and everywhere) because I was 100% sure this guy was going to end up blocking traffic by causing an argument.
BUT NO.
Instead, he was yelling at people to make a path available for the ambulance to go through! And it actually worked. People actually moved out of the way! They listened to reason and decided to not be complete pains! It turns out that this ambulance came a massive distance to reach this one hospital.
People who live in villages often don't have access to hospitals with the latest and newest equipment so the doctors in those villages give referrals to doctors in the bigger cities.
As I felt that that was an act of kindness, I decided to dedicate this post to something else that is dear to my family, namely my mothers' NGO: URJA- Energy.
Urja in Hindi/Sanskrit means Energy. Originally the aim of this NGO was to provide electricity to Siswa Bazaar, my family's ancestral village. Then the aim of the game expanded to include the villages in and around Maharajganj District, a district on the border with Nepal. Currently the electricity plans are working to the point where they are self-sufficient and thus can be considered a success. Another item on the agenda is women empowerment, something that is relevant to not only India, but the rest of the world as well. Even in "advanced" places like Belgium and the United States. The latest project is installing libraries. This has been quite a challenge as the basic structures are lacking to begin with. So even getting a few books hasn't been as easy as one-two-three.
The thing is, India has a lot of NGO support from all over the world. So much so that India now has been sending NGO support to other, more dependent countries. But the problem is that the current NGO's are all located in the south of India, leaving north India to fend for itself.
So now we're here. Though financial help is always appreciated, how about starting of by informing yourself about this NGO, and then you can decide for yourself how exactly you feel like you can contribute. Right now we're looking for books. Preferably in English or any Indian language.
This is the website: http://www.urja-energy.org/
And our e-mail address: urjaforenergy@gmail.com
We're also on Facebook at Urja-Energy where we regularly post our latest accomplishments and upcoming goals.
If you're in high school and looking for an extra-curricular, contact us.
If you're in college and looking for something that will make you feel good, contact us.
If you're an adult and working, give us money. (No but in all seriousness, please do contact us.)
http://www.urja-energy.org/
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