Lalita Rao
I read an article on Dailygood.org recently that made me sit up and think. Thoughts and questions popped up and zinged into each other at top speed in my brain.
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When you wake up in the morning, what inspires you to act? to do something
different? to change the world? to (most importantly, for me) get OUT of your
comfort zone in order to accomplish something? What level of sacrifice are you
game for, in order to serve and bring peace, joy, love and happiness to others
(that are not your family and friends)?
The
person who set off an avalanche of thoughts and questions is Maggie Doyne,
featured in the Dailygood article. At
18, she woke up one morning and decided that rather than go to college, she
would travel the world during her 'gap year' (the year between high school and
college). She ended up in war torn areas of Nepal and stayed. Seeing the
impoverished children breaking stone to sell for food, and rummaging through
garbage to collect discarded items, did something to her. Before she knew it,
she had opened an orphanage, started the Kopila Valley school and now, runs a
Foundation called The BlinkNow Foundation. At 23, she is 'mother' to 40 kids in the orphanage
and 300 in the school. You can read details of the story on any of the links
given here. I believe that with the blink
of an eye, we can all make a difference, she says. Maggie called her
parents and had them wire her $5000 - her entire savings from part time jobs -
and spent it on building up the school.
