Serve mankind…. when, where and how?

“I always tried to turn every disaster into an opportunity.” - John D. Rockefeller

The first half of this article is about this quote by John DR. It is Monday, the 16^th of Feb 2009. Came to office a little early and had few minutes to catch up on the current news on TOI – Bangalore Edition. The main reason I wanted to read the e-news was to get an update on the Ram Sena (Lord Rama’s army ??) & the pink chaddi campaign that happened on the V- Day.

There are many articles on these two groups about which I do not want to elaborate much. The once news that caught my eyes is about the decision made by the Ram Sena head about the pink chaddis they received as a sign of protest. If it would have been me in that position of getting thousands of free underwear free of charge (though in the name of protest), my first impulse would be to send them to the needy. That was exactly what was decided by the Ram Sena initially, as per the news paper. However, they decided against the noble idea and decided to pollute the environment by burning them. How stupid can people get??? Just ask few of your sena members to sort out the good ones from the heap and pack them off to the numerous orphanages or homes for the disabled. Ok… your sena is too proud to sort through the heap… because to them it might be an insult rather than make use of the opportunity to server mankind, even in a small way. If that is your problem, why not ask volunteers from these homes to help themselves with the stock. Ok… the sena has decided to burn them all… so will it be. What have I got to say here.

But hold… I too will have a day when my voice will be heard loud and clear through the NGO called iTONE Foundation ©. Heard of it before??? I doubt it. This is the foundation me and my partner have decided to initiate once we have the proper means. It means “In Times of Need & Emergency (iTONE)” Foundation. By the way, there are other “itone” organizations that is dedicated to medicine, job consultation, IT concern, iPhone, etc. Hope people do not get confused :). I wish no one else uses this name for a soul saving organization, before we get it registered legally. We (me & him) were discussing about the under privileged lot in India and wanted to do something for them. I was inspired by the article I read in last month’s RD – about Jet Li’s ONE FOUNDATION.

In my previous post I had written about how blessed and beautiful I am and of course, many of us are. But there are countless others who lack the basic necessities. When I read about One Foundation, I was wondering if we have one such in India. Even if there is… it will not hurt to have one more group called the iTONE Foundation, who will work to have a better tomorrow, starting today. In fact, I would very much like to adopt the policy of One Foundation, that is… 1 person + 1 dollar + 1 month = 1 big family. Because, though we have the heart to move mountains, we require the means, the money to get the equipments to move it.

In India, may be we can start each person donating just RS: 10 per month, towards a SOS activity. How less is RS: 10? A hot plate of samosas from the college and office canteen, a parking ticket in a cinema hall, half the price of parking ticket in a mall, a cheap ball point pen, a piece of chocolate, a part of debt you don’t pay back a friend or forget getting it back from a friend, and the list goes on. Our staunch beief is that our fellow Indians definitely would have the heart to spare 10 bucks every month for iTONE… coz one never knows when they would themselves be a benefited by iTONE.

To start with, few of the SOS activities we aspire to do through the our iTONE are

1. Provide scholarships to “eligible” students who cannot afford to pay their tuition fees (at least up to their higher secondary education).
2. People who want to quit being sex workers and start a more refined life in spite of knowing that their income would be far lesser than what they make now.
3. People who once were forced into being the bad-elements of the society and are willing to start a new life.
4. Collect and send relief funds and basic needs to places struck by disaster… either man-made or god-made.
5. Set up camps to create awareness to the public about AIDS patients in our society and help the unfortunate victims
6. Invite doctors and other experts to spread awareness about the effects of drugs, liquor, tobacco, etc to students

It is a long way to go… and according to us, no destination is far if you know who to ask for direction and guidance. Few milestones to cross are

1. Kick start this movement by getting this organization registered and copy righted.
2. Form a team of responsible citizens who share a common desire – to serve mankind.
3. Talk to volunteers and management of other NGOs to know how they work
4. Initiate celebrities (actors, authors, sport icons, etc) to support our cause… coz their words though few would reach far
5. To meet people in different walks of life to research on the feasibilities
6. To set a official web site and logo to project our ideas and accept innovative ideas from others like us. (Any web designer reading this willing to volunteer – for free?)
7. Open up a bank account dedicated to the funds of iTONE foundation
8. Meet the youth and the elders alike to seek their volunteer ship and contributions
9. Persuade our NRIs to become active contributors… etc

The woods are lovely, dark and deep.
But WE have promises to keep,
And miles to go before WE sleep,
And miles to go before WE sleep.

My request to the readers of this post to pitch in their ideas and guidance to help us move forward in serving mankind.