Direct flights out of Kabul have been regionally limited to the extent of excluding Kathmandu as a destination. Thus, the several Nepali citizens employed in Afghanistan, in addition to vacationers, are required to fly either via Islamabad or Delhi with a layover of at least one night. My single entry visa for Pakistan had, by now, expired, so I decided to transit through the latter. While strolling through Connaught Place after a satisfying dinner at Zen restaurant, unpredictably, a young child lunged at me, forcefully trying to pry from my hand the box of still warm leftover chicken chow mein that I had planned to eat before my early flight the following morning. As my instinct led me to resist with equal force and hold onto the box as if it were dear life in my hands, I noticed the completely tattered clothes of the boy. I continued to walk forward towards my car, my instinct still urging me to fight him off as he agonizingly shouted, “Khaanaa dhedho…khaanaa….khaanaa dhedho…(Give me food…food…give me food…)” Meanwhile, my thoughts took me elsewhere. How could I deny a starving child food that I still had in abundance after having filled my own stomach? How could I be en route to Nepal on a mission to contribute to the alleviation of poverty and not afford this one child a single meal? I stopped near my car as the boy’s energy waned and stared at him as I silently handed over the parcel. The resources to eradicate poverty are profuse. Somehow, it is the sincere motivation among the well-endowed that is lacking.
In this regard, agencies like VDRC are admirable. Its founders were young, proactive students, hungry for social and economic change and unwilling to laze about waiting for foreign aid and “development” to stream into their communities. Rather, they were motivated by the idea that their progress would materialize if it was community-driven and were compelled to begin contributing their own time and income towards social entrepreneurial endeavors for the social, political and economic upliftment of their immediate community and eventually, of the disadvantaged Nepalese nationwide. They garnered the support of their neighbors and fellow community members and eventually established VDRC, which in turn, has been a catalyst for the establishment of its three sister organizations: VYCCU Savings and Credit Cooperative Ltd. (VYCCU), Vijaya Community Information and Communication Cooperative Ltd. (VICCoL), and Vijaya Community Education Cooperative Ltd. (VICEC).
Though I will be dappling in all four entities, my primary area of work will be with VYCCU as well as other microfinance institutions operating in the surrounding districts.
muy bueno!
ReplyDelete