This week at office was tough. Multiple projects tear you apart. But none the less, the New ARK mission meetings were fun. This week was when we put final touches to the AR's ( Intel's acronyms for non-Intel activities too - I know what you are thinking ). New ARK mission was an activity that was pending for a long time. We had finalized the date to 10th April. Time was probably running out. But then, someone from the team would step up and finish the task. The community service team had gelled well. Now, it was time that we go out and put a smile on the underprivileged.
The d-day had arrived. Yashas picked me up from my home and we had to pick Santosh on our way. We picked up the cake from the bakery and proceeded to the mission. We reached there around 2 PM and all the other volunteers had already arrived. All of them ( except me) were busy distributing the fruits and cakes to the inmates, while I was busy capturing the moments with my camera. I started to interact with a few kids there nd I played with a couple of them for a while.
The best part of the event was when I asked a kid what he wanted to drive when he was into his teens. The kid thought for a while and said he prefer ed bikes when compared to cars. He said he wanted to ride a "Dhoom" bike. We smiled about it and we continued with our work. But then after a while the same kid came back and asked me " Anna(Big brother), what do you drive ???". I said I have a car and I enjoy driving it. The kid then said "Anna, naanu nin hage aagbeku ( I want to be just like you) naanu doddavanad mele car odustini (I want to drive a car when I grow up) ". That moved me. . The very thought that I could be a role model to a kid,who hardly knows me , made me appreciate my life even more.
While some of us could hold our tears , there were others like me who could not. When you see reality from a very close proximity such as this, one invariably breaks down. Later on we donated rexin beds , ceiling fans and sports equipments to the kids. And then I had a chance to meet the man behind this mission - T Raja ( also known as Auto Raja ). He narrated us how his life had been moved and the reason behind starting this place. He had also won awards for his work and he had a chance to meet Sachin Tendulkar and Mukesh Ambani ( to name a few ) in the Reliance award function - The real Heroes ( I believe ).
We left the place and headed to a Barista near by. We had a good time there and we discussed about the post -event party. As the sun slowly disappeared, we headed back to our house.Now, when I look back at this day, I wonder - "Whats the best gift that one could give the kids ( the future of this country) at the New ARK mission ? ". Donate money and it'll be spent in no time, donate food and that'll end in a some time. As I search answers to this question, a poster at the New ARK mission comes to my mind - the best gift to give someone is to give them some hope. And I recall one of the quotes - “Hope is the thing with feathers, that perches in the soul, and sings the tune without words, and never stops at all.”
The sense of satisfaction that our team members got at the end is incomparable. The biggest impact is the kids looking at you as a role model and starting to dream about making achievements in their lives!.
I can proudly say " Yes ! I made a difference ".
