NEW DELHI, November 27, 2018 /PRNewswire/ --
The Tuesday that follows Thanksgiving Thursday is a special one, as it is 'Giving Tuesday' - the International Day that celebrates the spirit of giving, and thus kicks off the season for end-of-the-year giving.
At the very centre of 'Giving Tuesday' sits the core belief that giving does not only change the life of the receiver, but that of the giver as well. In other words, the day celebrates the joy of giving - and champion all individuals from different walks of life who come out of their selves, offer themselves to become contributors to a cause, and in the process transform into better human beings.
This is exactly what Late Rippan Kapur, the founder of CRY - Child Rights and You believed in, as he was often heard saying, "If you give of yourself, you will make a difference to their (children's) lives and your own." This phrase, oft-repeated since then, has somehow come to be the very DNA of the organisation through the years.
Elaborating how the non-profit organisation upholds the role of every individual's capacity to become a change-maker, Puja Marwaha, the CEO at CRY - Child Rights and You, said, "Even though it is often that we and people around us complain of a lack of compassion that is engulfing the world right now, we tend to overlook the fact that the war against this depressing scenario is on as well. It is on in schools, colleges, little clusters in slums, youth groups in villages, among the professionals who are running against time and also leaders from various walks of life."
For example, when a group of students from the Indian Institute of Technology in Kharagpur (one of the topmost educational institutes in India) get their Sundays off after a week of gruelling studies, they do not laze around. Instead, they go to the schools in the villages around, give sessions and conduct workshops with children - where they teach children about understanding what child sexual abuse is. They tell them it is never their fault and how they should report instances, stay aware, and be alert. "Project Bal Raksha" (Child Protection) - is their way of expressing that they care.
Or let's meet Harry Hawcroft, who flew all the way to India for a summer internship with CRY this year from the UK. His assignment was to give lessons in martial arts and music to children in the urban slums of New Delhi. There was a huge barrier staring him in the face, but Harry was very careful about the contribution he wanted to make in the lives of children. He learnt Hindi before coming down to India, as he just could not let the language come in the way of the amazing experience he was looking forward to. An educator by profession, this trip was definitely going to be one of his tougher projects. However, when he left, all he raved about was how much he learnt from his students.
Also listen to the 16 year old Shambhavi Vaidyanathan, who is currently based in Singapore. The spirit of giving drove her to spend her last summer in India planning a walkathon while preparing for her board examinations. Getting people to walk for a cause in the sweltering Chennai heat during the month of June was no mean task. However, that wasn't enough for the girl. She went on to run a crowd-funding alongside the event, raising money to stop child labour. "I joined CRY as a volunteer, with a mindset to give children some quality time. I've helped hold workshops, health camps, created a documentary, organized a walkathon for around 250 people, and along the way I also learnt the importance of team work, efficient communication and having immense gratitude," said Shambhavi Vaidyanathan.
"In all likelihood, these young individuals answer the question about why people give," says Puja Marwaha, "The true spirit that drives people to swim against the tide is the transformation they go through themselves. Whenever we embark on a journey to change the world around us, we begin a wonderful journey of rediscovering ourselves. We discover things that we could never imagine - we discover the strength in our being that was otherwise invisible. We also discover that change is possible, and it is us who make it happen."
Looking back at the four decade-long journey of CRY, Puja said, "CRY has seen many such stories of self-discovery. Having worked with thousands of change-makers every year, we have never been able to thank them enough for what they have given. Ask them about that, and they cut us midway to start talking about how they have become better versions of themselves, how the children have touched their lives and how they feel confident to confront any situation here on. Before we can tell them how wonderful they are, they will tell us how wonderful the journey has been."
"The need of the hour is not only to celebrate this infectious spirit of transforming lives, but also to look within and celebrate the transformation that giving of oneself brings to one's life. Let us acknowledge that the spirit of giving - giving your time, energy, resources, efforts, voice or yourself - brings about a change in you that you otherwise would not be able to achieve. Let us acknowledge that when you give, you actually become a receiver," she added.
About CRY
CRY - Child Rights and You is an Indian non-profit organisation that believes in every child's right to a happy, healthy and creative childhood - to live, learn, grow and play. For the last four decades, CRY and its 850 initiatives have worked with parents and communities to ensure Lasting Change in the lives of more than 2,000,000 underprivileged children, across 23 states in India.
For more information about CRY please visit http://www.cry.org.
For media enquiries write to abhik.bhattacharya@crymail.org
Phone no: +91-9051668304
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