Spreading Joy and Making a Difference - One Step At a Time

Making Others Happy
The author of the book "Is Your Child Ready To Face The World?" has presented before his readers the importance of the sense of satisfaction that one stands to gain by doing good for others, which in turn can help dissolve all the stress and tension of daily life for some time. 

The author has quoted examples from real life wherein personalities, such as Charlie Chaplin, always worked with the aim of spreading happiness and bringing smiles to people's faces on a daily basis. The author has compared the good old days, when people found happiness in little things, with the present era, where despite being blessed with all the luxuries needed for a happy life, happiness is nowhere to be found.

Going by the author's way of leading life and his emphasis on making others happy, I decided to spread some permanent smiles by way of educating the young children of my society's watchman.

I live in an apartment society and Mr. Babulal serves as the watchman of our society. He and his wife have been given a one-room residential space outside the building where he stays with his wife and two children.  He earns a meagre amount every month and his wife also works to support the family by doing household chores for the other residents.  Both his children, a daughter and a son, are very curious and enjoy studying. They often used to come over to my place in the evenings to study.

One day, Mr. Babulal told me that he wants his daughter to become a doctor, and for that he wants to send her to the best school in order to avail the best possible education. I was aware of the legal provision of the RTE Act, whereby 25% seats in any private school are reserved for children belonging to poor families. I decided to get the girl admitted to our school and help her gain access to all possible facilities needed to pass her grades with flying colours. Another thing that worked in our favour was our school's progressive policy of advocating and proactively promoting girls' education. I was sure that it would prove to be the best platform for her to pursue her dreams. I got all her documentary proofs gathered in order to help them fill her application form. Soon, she got admitted on a 100% scholarship in one of the oldest schools in Pali district i.e. The Fabindia School.

On her first day I met her in school and was elated to see the smile on her face. The happiness of being associated with a good school and having better books and new friends around her was clearly evident. She put in great efforts to cope with the pace of her fellow mates as she had joined late and used to complete her work immediately after coming back from school.

Facilitating the child in gaining access to better opportunities, which in turn would open up new horizons for her, has been a priceless experience in my life. I hope she goes on to fulfil all her dreams with happiness.

~ Sharmila Vijayvargi is an Educator at The Fabindia School. Her email is svi4fab@gmail.com