I have more or less been a bleeding heart most of my life! And I have become worse since the ordeal in Qatar.
When it comes to matters related to humanitarian work, quite often, I make decisions without thinking; I let my heart — my feelings and emotions — make quick and even rash decisions without waiting for all the necessary information, or without thinking through and weighing in all the implications and ramifications of the decision.
Returning to Nepal and running COMMITTED with my buddy Jayjeev, and devoting my time to improving access to, and quality of, education of vulnerable children in the country, for instance, means that I learn about Nepalese children suffering for one reason or another, regularly.
Their plight, their stories, especially those of the marginalized and the poor, are heart-wrenching. Many such stories other people relay to me. Many I discover myself.
Most I feel powerless to do anything about. But some, moved by them, I act on immediately.
Acting on them has generally involved finding funding for their education. For one because people share stories with me hoping that I would do just that. For another because that’s what I am able to do most easily and readily.
It all started with raising scholarship funds for Raithane School and Taltuleshwori School children, expanding COMMITED’s sponsorship program. I would raise funds from friends individually. I would convince friends such as Michael (and his friend Elia) to raise funds on our behalf (which they ultimately did for the Nemira-COMMITTED SSP program through their business). I agreed to raise the necessary funds for Bishnu and her siblings’ education following my bleeding heart way back in October 2013.
I hold my bleeding heart responsible for fund-raising part of Prakriti’s educational expenses after hearing her story of struggle and suffering (and drive) last August. About a year ago, at the end of UWC-scholar selection process, I ran a fundraising drive for Iju mainly also following my bleeding heart, but also knowing how it could change the young girl’s life and the lives of children in her community. For the same reason, this year I have initiated a fundraising drive to aid five Nepalese UWC scholars.
To be sure, I haven’t acted on every child’s story I have discovered! Neither have I acted on every child’s story different people have shared with me, of which there have been many.
People keep reminding me that with just a little help from me (by fundraising) — or from COMMITTED — for their education, their life will change. And it’s tough NOT falling for that. I am sure there are many out there who know the transformational power of education. I am one of them!
What’s more, there are those whose stories my heart took to and responded to immediately or pretty soon after but later have wondered about. In some instances at a later date, I have wondered — or discovered? — if I might have made a mistake in doing so…for a number of reasons.
So, a while ago, I decided NOT to give in to my bleeding heart so readily. I’ll continue to not give in until we at COMMITTED have designed a more comprehensive model of our sponsorship program. So far our program has worked sufficiently, but it could be better, it could be improved upon.
In the mean time, I am on the hunt for a patch for my bleeding heart…and we at COMMITTED a patch for the sufferings of children we serve.
And only money isn’t going to cut it!
