After my earlier post, I started fresh. I believed it can done. And now, I am reaping its fruits, literally. All it needed was some soil, a sapling, lots of water and plenty of caring.
That is a good enough motivation for me to think bigger and I am going for it. To go bigger, I need the tools synonymous to the soil, the sapling and water. I consider optimism as the soil, kids as the saplings and time as water. To gain the fruits of life, we need to start with kids in schools and groom then so we can pick the fruits of life when we grow old.
It is easier to teach a kid than a grown person. A grown person has a brain filled with tremendous information and it is hard to convince the person to change the way of life or the way of thinking. Selfishness and ego tend to take the driver's seat over humaneness and morality. A country can never become developed until a human life gets the respect it deserves irrespective of the status - rich or homeless. Such a state can not and will not occur in a country like India overnight. Patience and perseverence are the keys to success.
Personal and public hygiene, safety and compassion should be an integral part of a kids education as they are the keys to a healthy and humane life that defines a country's stage of development. Personal hygiene, as most of us know, is learnt through family values and the way the kith and kin carry themselves around in the family and the kids do in the school. These are instinctively learnt. Public hygiene is often not given as much importance as personal hygiene in our society. This needs to be taught in schools so the future citizens of the country can carry the education to make the country more healthy to live in.
Safety needs to be taught in schools. In my school days and I am sure it still continues in some schools, there was/is no concept of safety or precautions except in record notebooks. I have not seen a physics lab darker or a chemistry lab without the basic safety equipment like fire extinguisher and first aid kit. We were not taught the importance of safety in school in our days and that reflects in the current generations total lack of safety on roads and in society. Had we been given the right tools to tackle these situations when we were in school, we wouldn't be having posts and debates on if safety and hygiene need enforcement or not. Moral values need to be taught at an young age and social implications needs to be highlighted to kids. These can only be done at schools. Schools form the soil, kids are the saplings and education is water. The more nutrients we replenish the soil with while watering the sapling, the juicier is the fruit.
Twenty years ago, had someone not thought of the idea that India could be a strong player in the world today in IT services, it would not have happened today. Hundred years ago, had someone not thought that India could be independent, it would probably not have been independent.
It is time for us to think and act now. There are several problems we face and we also candidly exchange opinions on what can solve those. But no one enters the field to implement the same. Let each of us pledge here to solve one problem in our lifetime that we think needs a solution. Let us take the effort beyond opinions and solve it for a change.
Today, I pledge that I will do all in my power to make my country healthier to live in for all. I intend to do this by requesting the support of some of my friends in India to take up the duty of cleaning a designated area themselves and with the help of the local school kids. In the US, highways are often marked by mile markers saying that a fraternity is responsible for keeping the highway clean for so many miles. These are not mandatory organizations or enforced by the government. These are voluntary frat members who work hard to keep the zone in their jurisdiction clean. Such zones need to be created in the places we grow up in or become part of. I also intend, with permission from the nearest school, to teach a class every week on safety, hygiene and the importance of individual responsibility in society.
The doubters and critics may just dismiss my intentions saying I live in a foreign country and this is just "ettu suraikkai". As long as I am true to myself and my intent, I will continue to make all the efforts and I would appreciate your support, suggestions and actions to make us gain the real fruits of life.