Daydream to Dream Day

This is the title of a wonderful event held in Bhubaneshwar during the JGW 09. This was a special event for children and as the name suggests, it was an event where the organizers worked towards making the daydreams of the children come true.

Children from Sikharchandi slums of Bhubaneshwar, were taken for a joy rinde in a car, met with the famous Oriya actor hari Hari Mohapatra, went for a movie, lunch at a restaurant, ice creams at an ice cream parlour, gifts, chocolates and all that children love, especially those children who can only dream about some of the experiences they were presented with.

The number of volunteers who engaged in this event were 11, but the children who found their dreams come true were many.

Such a Dream Day, was also a part of the JGW celebrations at the Rotary Doll’s Museum in Rajkot, where entrance fee was waived for children during the duration of the week. Due to this, more than 8000 children could visit the museum, many of them from needy families. As the Project Co-ordinator of the museum Deepak Agarwal writes,

“It was satisfying to see children from lower strata enjoying the place , their astonishing eyes, priceless smiles, we thank JOG people for spreading the idea of Giving.”

But we believe that we at the JGW team need to thank those who have taken initiatives like these to spread the Joy of Giving.

Spreading Smiles

When one goes through the enormous amount of feedback received from participants in the JGW 09, one wonders which of these should be written about. We have in an earlier post, spoken about measuring the impact of JGW.
http://joyofgivingweek.blogspot.com/2010/04/measuring-impact-of-jgw-09.html

Is the impact to be measured in terms of resources raised or is it to be measured in terms of people reached out to and to the smiles that lit up faces. This dilemma continues to haunt while choosing events to highlight. Much as we would like to write about all those who went out of their way to participate and make the JGW a success, it is just not possible.

Do we then choose to write about the big events wherein celebrities participated, the media was in full attendance and a lot of resources were raised, or do we focus on the small events in small towns wherein individuals came forward to make a difference in the lives of those less fortunate and the reach may not have been much, but yet the impact felt was tremendous? It is the latter stories that touch ones sensitivities and inspires one to also contribute towards spreading smiles.

Just such a story has come our way. On the 2nd of October 09, a group of people from the city of Bhubaneshwar, decided to spend a day at an old age home. They write about the smiles that met them at the home, the sheer joy the inhabitants of the home displayed at their unexpected visit and ‘forbidden delights’ as the food they treated the residents of the home to was called. The visitors learnt of the deep grief most of these old people had and of their longing to be loved and welcomed. As the inhabitants shared their touching stories with the visitors, stories of abandonment, of despair, the latter found that “they had no words to console.”

Did the visitors then go away with sadness ? Not really for as one of them observed, it was only when alone that these old people were sad, otherwise the solidarity and good cheer they displayed was infectious. What then was the lesson learnt? To spread smiles and joy and devote time and give of oneself to the grandparents at home.

Truly a wonderful celebration of Gandhi Jayanthi during JGW 09.