We often talk about poverty and underdevelopment in India – just as we also think about the well-being of our society. But, how many of us are really concerned about it? How many have sincerely cared about this matter? There’s no doubt that all of us have came across situations where we have strongly felt that the future of our society is in danger, but we were unable to do anything even if we wanted to. Will that time come when our thoughts and words will take the forms of actions?
We are well aware about the present condition of poverty in our country. I would like to share one such experience which I went through, recently. When returning from school, after getting down from the auto, I usually have to walk for 15 minutes to reach home. One day, as soon as I left the auto and started walking ahead, I noticed a four- or five-year old child running behind me. At first, I got confused on seeing this small kid follow me. It took me a couple of seconds to understand the matter – only when I saw his palms extended towards me, in hope of getting some money.
I was unable to decide what to do, as this was all very sudden. However, automatically, my hand went into my pocket and I took a ₹2 coin and handed it to him. There was no measure to his happiness. He went to the other side of the road from where he had come, while I stood there surprised, reminiscing the whole event.
In fact, this incident was an eye-opener for me regarding the kind of hardships these children face, and is, consequently, very close to me. Even before this incident, I had seen many children and their families living in impoverished conditions, but I had never thought or pondered over it.
We are used to feeling guilty about this situation – we feel bad for them, we are sympathetic and we feel pity for them. But, are we doing something to ensure that we don’t have to feel this guilt, this sympathy and this pity? Not surprisingly, after that incident, I remained puzzled over whether I had the right thing by giving a pitiful amount to a hungry kid? Or, had I supported this evil indirectly and ‘imposed’ it on several other street children like him?
There is truly an urgent need to take action to ensure the betterment of our future generation.
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Featured image used for representative purposes only.