November- Lovember
20th November 2020- my Big 4 O
This humbling year of 2020 for mankind has made us witness all forms of celebrations from behind the computer screens. My fellow 1980 borns’ have by now exhausted all the creative ways of turning 40 in the era of pandemic with no gatherings, no events and no parties. After a lot of soul searching I have come to realize, while I may have some legendary stories to tell, what I really wanted for my 40th Birthday is to BE someone I haven’t yet become and DO things I haven’t yet done. It almost feels like my story has not begun…
To start the story somehow, I wish for a butterfly effect to initiate a paradigm shift and this I wish from the deepest corners of my heart. I wish there were more of me to do things that I can’t do, places where I want to be and people that I can’t be with and thus, I wish for you all- my family and friends to be my extension, if you feel the connection…
Of all the things I want to do the most, and have done very little towards, is helping the ones that can’t help themselves. With my bag of unexecuted ideas, I am entering the 40s, and I will one day get on to this.. but for now I call on my loved ones to join me on this quest and “That” will be the biggest gift for me.
I have talked about being a Lover and being a Giver on my Facebook page, Give&Love in the past year, and I truly believe as a social being, the purpose of our life if realised through conscious living, is about giving back as gratitude to the life we have, and loving every moment of it. Spreading this message of Giving and Loving is my Life mission and as my birthday gift I wish for this….
Gift me your oath to give and love on my behalf on my birthday and may be onwards! You can choose any of the causes below as they are the closest to my heart or any of the causes you find that move you and may not be on the list. I am giving you options as a choice of what you may connect with the most. You can give it to your regular charities if you have any and dedicate the November one in my name in your heart..
I wish for this gift as a blessing from everyone and anyone who feels a connection to these causes or to me.
- Gift me a receipt of your donations ( with the amount blacked out- as truly no amount is small) or just let me know you picked this up.
- Children living on the streets: 150 million… that’s just a Global estimated and accounted for number of children living on the streets. There are numerous brave people who are helping these children and you can pick them in your city of choice.
The one I have met and know is in my beautiful hometown- city of Jaipur
i-India- http://www.i-indiaonline.com/
I support I-India because it aims to create facilities and services for street kids for their education, health and safety. You can find out more here- http://www.i-indiaonline.com/help%20main.htm
2. World refugee Crisis- 70.8 million .. that’s just the estimated number of people who have been displaced from the comfort of their homes. I have felt the pain in the heart of the mother who floated on the boats of ocean waters for several weeks in a hope to find a safe haven for her children… only the lucky ones made it to somewhere safe from countries like Myanmar, Syria and now they need rehabilitation.
I support UNHCR- https://www.unhcr.org/ . UNHCR has global reach and is making a tremendous impact on all refugees living in camps all over the world.. They are constantly in need of funds for their facilities and initiatives. You can find out more.. here
3. World hunger crisis- UN World food Programme received the Nobel Peace prize for 2020. https://www.nobelprize.org/prizes/peace/2020/press-release/
It is a huge crisis which we can’t even imagine exists as we are throwing left overs in huge amounts daily, but a hungry child needs your help in almost every city in the world.
I support Share the Meal ( sharethemeal.org ) and Willing Hearts Foundation ( www.willinghearts.org.sg )
ShareTheMeal is a crowdfunding smartphone application to fight global hunger through the United Nations World Food Programme.
Willing Hearts is a soup kitchen in Singapore that prepares, cooks and distributes about 6,500 daily meals to over 40 locations island wide, 365 days a year.
4. Cancer care and research- Cancer is one of the leading causes of deaths not just globally but in Singapore, my home. Cancer treatments don’t just take a toll on the patient but the whole family in a high cost economy like Singapore.
I support Singapore Cancer Society (http://www.singaporecancersociety.org.sg)- It is a self-funded voluntary welfare organisation which is dedicated to minimising the impact of cancer in Singapore through the provision of cancer treatment subsidies, financial and welfare aid to needy cancer patients, home hospice care services for terminally-ill cancer patients, as well as rehabilitation support programmes for recovering cancer patients and cancer survivors.
5. Rehabilitation and Welfare homes for kids- There are orphanages and vocational welfare homes in every city in this world. They operate on government grants and donations. You can create a direct visible impact by helping them directly.
I support- Muhammadiyah Welfare Home near my place in Singapore https://mwh.muhammadiyah.org.sg/our-history/- It is a Children’s Home for Juvenile offenders, the abused and neglected and those who are Beyond Parental Control (BPC). They are moving to a new location this year and raising funds to help with the move.
I will stop here, as the list can go on and on as there are numerous causes that one can associate with..
I would love to hear about the causes you have given to so I can learn all about the amazing people who are out there making a difference and living it up.
Thanks for reading all the way to the end..
