Inasmuch as ye have done it unto one of the least of these my brethren,
ye have done it unto me.
- Matthew 25:40
Let us touch the dying, the poor,
the lonely and the unwanted
according to the graces we have received
and let us not be ashamed
or slow to do the humble work.
- Mother Teresa
When faith and hope fail, as they do sometimes,
we must try charity, which is love in action.
We must speculate no more on our duty,
but simply do it.
When we have done it, however blindly,
perhaps Heaven will show us why.
- Dinah Maria Mulock
No man stands so tall as when he stoops to help a child.
- Abraham Lincoln (attributed)
VOLUNTEERS - SEVA - SEWA - TKN
Seva [Service] leads to Salvation
MOMIN CHETAMANI
by SYED IMAM SHAH
http://www.ismaili.net/granths/chetwanb.html
Look in these verses:
59) Eji Seva kije saheb tani,
To tale te jiv ne janjal
66) Seva karo sacha satguru tani
Tethi pamasho moksh mugat didar
MOMIN CHETAMANI
by SYED IMAM SHAH
http://www.ismaili.net/granths/chetwanb.html
Look in these verses:
59) Eji Seva kije saheb tani,
To tale te jiv ne janjal
66) Seva karo sacha satguru tani
Tethi pamasho moksh mugat didar
Barriers to Volunteering for Well-educated Young Professionals
Excerpt:
"The findings were that the Northeast Jamat has an extremely capable and willing group of young people who are eager to volunteer their time, and more importantly, their knowledge. An overwhelming number of respondents had been involved or expressed a willingness to be involved in Jamati work. Most of these individuals were not interested in formal appointments or recognition, but valued doing impactful work. However, due to a variety of constraints including professional demands and the de-centralization of the region (which spans eleven Jamats across several states), these individuals often had trouble identifying opportunities and in turn the Jamati Institutions had difficulty in identifying them. In addition, some of the individuals who had volunteered in the past felt that their backgrounds were not well-matched with their volunteer assignments, which led to disappointment because of their limited impact. Others noted that increased communication and flexibility within the Jamati Institutions would create a more enabling environment for volunteering."
https://www.timeandknowledge.org/barrie ... fessionals
Excerpt:
"The findings were that the Northeast Jamat has an extremely capable and willing group of young people who are eager to volunteer their time, and more importantly, their knowledge. An overwhelming number of respondents had been involved or expressed a willingness to be involved in Jamati work. Most of these individuals were not interested in formal appointments or recognition, but valued doing impactful work. However, due to a variety of constraints including professional demands and the de-centralization of the region (which spans eleven Jamats across several states), these individuals often had trouble identifying opportunities and in turn the Jamati Institutions had difficulty in identifying them. In addition, some of the individuals who had volunteered in the past felt that their backgrounds were not well-matched with their volunteer assignments, which led to disappointment because of their limited impact. Others noted that increased communication and flexibility within the Jamati Institutions would create a more enabling environment for volunteering."
https://www.timeandknowledge.org/barrie ... fessionals
Making an Impact on Female Youth –The Girls Mentorship Program
Posted on Monday, 12 October 2015
By Ashiff Waljee
Location: Toronto, Kitchener, Hamilton, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa in Canada
Task: Mentees are paired with mentors who are professional women with whom they can relate. Mentors are committed to supporting youth through the exploration of various life decisions such as future career paths, homework, part-time jobs, peer pressure, issues with friends and family relationships.
Impact Made:
•Influenced the life decisions of hundreds of young women
•The program has expanded nationally from Toronto to Kitchener, Hamilton, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa
FULL STORY
The contribution of TKN volunteers has been instrumental in the success of the Girls Mentorship Program of Canada. The program is designed to provide a support system for teenage girls during critical years in their lives. Mentees are paired with mentors who are professional women with whom they can relate. These mentors are committed to supporting youth through the exploration of various life decisions such as future career paths, homework, part-time jobs, peer pressure, issues with friends and family relationships. Each mentor caters to the unique needs of the mentees and is supported by a highly trained management team.
The program includes parents as part of the process so that they can help build on the strength of the program. Mentors are encouraged to visit their mentees at home to get to know their families. During one of these visits, a TKN volunteer mentor found that her mentee and siblings came home after school and went straight to the TV and computer. Homework time was virtually non-existent. Working with the mentee’s mother, the mentor helped establish a structure of discipline and routine for the children in which they came home, washed up and had a snack while they did their homework for two hours per day. After a number of months, the children were better behaved and their grades improved. The regular homework routine also helped the mentee complete high school. As a result, she is currently pursuing a college nursing program.
In another example, a mentee was trying to decide whether to become a wildlife photographer. Her mentor helped her research what it takes to pursue this career including how much time wildlife photographers spend in the field. The mentee realized that wildlife photographers spend days on end in the wild in uncomfortable situations, waiting for the opportune moment for a prized photo. Through the exploration, the mentee determined that wildlife photography was not the career she wanted to pursue after all. Although she decided to pursue something different, she was grateful for the opportunity to explore a career that she thought could be a possibility before ruling it out.
Although the above stories make it may seem like much of the benefit of the program is for the mentees, mentors also gain from their experience. The program is structured in a way that allows the mentors to customize their relationships with their mentees. It is through this structure that they continue to grow and develop their own skills. Mentors are often surprised at the growth and development they experience from their commitment. The following quotes illustrate what mentors gained from their participation in the program:
“I have enjoyed the simple pleasure of taking time out of my hectic schedule to interact with my mentee on a personal level. This is the first time I have mentored and I definitely know that I am getting more out of it than my mentee."
“What I gained was the chance to look at the world from a different perspective, with fresh eyes that have not yet been reined in by prejudice and conviction. I think it’s safe to say that whatever effort we put into this program was reciprocated back to us."
The impact of the program has been significant and much of that success has been due to the contribution made by TKN volunteers. TKN has provided the program with many team members and mentors who give wholeheartedly and consistently of their time and skills. At the end of each program, mentors are recruited into the management team as Team Leads, then Project Leads and Project Support positions. As a result of the excellent work of these dedicated volunteers, the program has been able to expand nationally from Toronto to Kitchener, Hamilton, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa. In their feedback, mentors and mentees have overwhelmingly indicated that they benefited greatly from the Girls Mentorship Program and hope that the program will continue to grow and make a difference for years to come.
https://www.timeandknowledge.org/making ... ip-program
Posted on Monday, 12 October 2015
By Ashiff Waljee
Location: Toronto, Kitchener, Hamilton, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa in Canada
Task: Mentees are paired with mentors who are professional women with whom they can relate. Mentors are committed to supporting youth through the exploration of various life decisions such as future career paths, homework, part-time jobs, peer pressure, issues with friends and family relationships.
Impact Made:
•Influenced the life decisions of hundreds of young women
•The program has expanded nationally from Toronto to Kitchener, Hamilton, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa
FULL STORY
The contribution of TKN volunteers has been instrumental in the success of the Girls Mentorship Program of Canada. The program is designed to provide a support system for teenage girls during critical years in their lives. Mentees are paired with mentors who are professional women with whom they can relate. These mentors are committed to supporting youth through the exploration of various life decisions such as future career paths, homework, part-time jobs, peer pressure, issues with friends and family relationships. Each mentor caters to the unique needs of the mentees and is supported by a highly trained management team.
The program includes parents as part of the process so that they can help build on the strength of the program. Mentors are encouraged to visit their mentees at home to get to know their families. During one of these visits, a TKN volunteer mentor found that her mentee and siblings came home after school and went straight to the TV and computer. Homework time was virtually non-existent. Working with the mentee’s mother, the mentor helped establish a structure of discipline and routine for the children in which they came home, washed up and had a snack while they did their homework for two hours per day. After a number of months, the children were better behaved and their grades improved. The regular homework routine also helped the mentee complete high school. As a result, she is currently pursuing a college nursing program.
In another example, a mentee was trying to decide whether to become a wildlife photographer. Her mentor helped her research what it takes to pursue this career including how much time wildlife photographers spend in the field. The mentee realized that wildlife photographers spend days on end in the wild in uncomfortable situations, waiting for the opportune moment for a prized photo. Through the exploration, the mentee determined that wildlife photography was not the career she wanted to pursue after all. Although she decided to pursue something different, she was grateful for the opportunity to explore a career that she thought could be a possibility before ruling it out.
Although the above stories make it may seem like much of the benefit of the program is for the mentees, mentors also gain from their experience. The program is structured in a way that allows the mentors to customize their relationships with their mentees. It is through this structure that they continue to grow and develop their own skills. Mentors are often surprised at the growth and development they experience from their commitment. The following quotes illustrate what mentors gained from their participation in the program:
“I have enjoyed the simple pleasure of taking time out of my hectic schedule to interact with my mentee on a personal level. This is the first time I have mentored and I definitely know that I am getting more out of it than my mentee."
“What I gained was the chance to look at the world from a different perspective, with fresh eyes that have not yet been reined in by prejudice and conviction. I think it’s safe to say that whatever effort we put into this program was reciprocated back to us."
The impact of the program has been significant and much of that success has been due to the contribution made by TKN volunteers. TKN has provided the program with many team members and mentors who give wholeheartedly and consistently of their time and skills. At the end of each program, mentors are recruited into the management team as Team Leads, then Project Leads and Project Support positions. As a result of the excellent work of these dedicated volunteers, the program has been able to expand nationally from Toronto to Kitchener, Hamilton, Vancouver, Montreal, Calgary and Ottawa. In their feedback, mentors and mentees have overwhelmingly indicated that they benefited greatly from the Girls Mentorship Program and hope that the program will continue to grow and make a difference for years to come.
https://www.timeandknowledge.org/making ... ip-program
Strumming for Schools
My name is Imaan Shivji, I am 17 years old and I wanted to share with Ismailimail community my experience at Global Encounters.
I had the opportunity of going to Mombasa, Kenya this past summer, as a participant for Global Encounters, which is a camp held at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa for Ismaili Youth aged 15-17 from all around the world. The mandate of Global Encounters is to expose youth to Service, Leadership, and Cultural experiences.
After volunteering at a local school, Port Reitz, in Mombasa for three weeks, I was inspired by the children's motivation to learn, despite their physical challenges.
After returning home to Vancouver in July, I decided to search for ways to continue to make an impact on the lives of these children in Mombasa. I asked myself, what can I do in my community to make a difference globally? Since I could not continue to physically volunteer, I decided to dedicate my time to fundraising efforts. I began by brainstorming for fundraising ideas. I came up with the idea of using my hobby of singing and playing guitar for more than just entertainment. As a result, I started my own fundraising initiative, Strumming For Schools, through which I have been busking on the streets of Vancouver to raise money for Port Reitz School.
https://www.gofundme.com/strumming4schools
My name is Imaan Shivji, I am 17 years old and I wanted to share with Ismailimail community my experience at Global Encounters.
I had the opportunity of going to Mombasa, Kenya this past summer, as a participant for Global Encounters, which is a camp held at the Aga Khan Academy Mombasa for Ismaili Youth aged 15-17 from all around the world. The mandate of Global Encounters is to expose youth to Service, Leadership, and Cultural experiences.
After volunteering at a local school, Port Reitz, in Mombasa for three weeks, I was inspired by the children's motivation to learn, despite their physical challenges.
After returning home to Vancouver in July, I decided to search for ways to continue to make an impact on the lives of these children in Mombasa. I asked myself, what can I do in my community to make a difference globally? Since I could not continue to physically volunteer, I decided to dedicate my time to fundraising efforts. I began by brainstorming for fundraising ideas. I came up with the idea of using my hobby of singing and playing guitar for more than just entertainment. As a result, I started my own fundraising initiative, Strumming For Schools, through which I have been busking on the streets of Vancouver to raise money for Port Reitz School.
https://www.gofundme.com/strumming4schools
Math expert leads development and delivery of UCA Summer Camp curriculum
Volunteer name: Naseem Jaffer
Location: Central Asia
Duration of assignment: 9 months
Impact made:
•The development of UCA’s (University of Central Asia) inaugural summer camp curriculum based on a thorough assessment of Central Asian educational realities and international university expectations and standards
•An assessment of both content and pedagogy in mathematics instruction in Central Asia, which continues to be instructive as UCA designs additional programmes for high school students
•One-on-one capacity building of a mathematics teacher, who after successfully teaching the curriculum during UCA’s Summer Camp, has been hired as one of UCA’s first faculty members for its Preparatory Program
•The successful delivery of an innovative and relevant mathematics curriculum at UCA’s inaugural Summer Camp for Grade 10 students
Full story:
The University of Central Asia (UCA) was founded in 2000. The Presidents of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan, and His Highness the Aga Khan, signed the International Treaty and Charter establishing this secular and private University which was ratified by the respective parliaments and registered with the United Nations. The Presidents are the Patrons of UCA and His Highness is the Chancellor. UCA brings with it the commitment and partnership of the broader Aga Khan Development Network.
Naseem Jaffer is an education consultant with 25 years of experience working with underprivileged schools. With her qualifications, a Master’s in Education and a Teaching Certificate in Mathematics, Naseem had all the required skills and experience to add significant value to an educational program. When UCA identified a need to develop its mathematics curriculum for the inaugural Summer Camp, Naseem was approached to take on this assignment as a TKN volunteer.
Having spent so much of her professional life upgrading the maths skills of both teachers and students in underprivileged schools in the United States, with a focus on aligning mathematics curricula to meet national standards, Naseem is familiar with the sense of fulfilment derived from helping the less fortunate. However, through her TKN assignment with UCA, Naseem experienced“an even higher sense of satisfaction”.
When Naseem first arrived in Central Asia, she was tasked with grading and tabulating math results. Her focus quickly shifted to upgrading the curricula. She says, “to get a better understanding of the education system and teaching culture, we visited students and teachers in UCA’s host countries of Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan. The students were well behaved and the teachers well qualified. In addition, the teachers were very committed despite often working two or even three jobs”. Naseem collated as much information as possible and returned home to continue her assignment.
“On my return, I concentrated on developing the mathematics curriculum for the Summer Camp. The curriculum was based on the gaps we found in the assessment analysis and since the curriculum was for students with varying levels of English-language skills, it had to be written through a different lens”. Naseem also focused on introducing students to topics that are not covered in their school curriculum but are required by international universities, such as graphs and probability.
Following her work developing the curriculum, Naseem returned to Bishkek to train a mathematics teacher who helped the Summer Camp counsellors to deliver the curriculum. In this valuable exchange of skills and experience, Naseem picked up the cultural nuances of Central Asia while the teacher acquired new teaching skills to maximise the benefits of the new curriculum.
Once the Camp was underway, Naseem was constantly in touch to provide assistance and ensure the curriculum was delivered with seamless ease.
TKN assignments vary in their nature and duration but a common thread is the personal and professional fulfilment experienced by volunteers. As Naseem says, “My TKN experience has been extremely rewarding and I can only hope that the students have benefitted from my work and that they apply to study at UCA”.
UCA highly appreciates Naseem’s passionate commitment and exceptional contribution on this significant TKN assignment.
https://www.timeandknowledge.org/math-e ... curriculum
Volunteer name: Naseem Jaffer
Location: Central Asia
Duration of assignment: 9 months
Impact made:
•The development of UCA’s (University of Central Asia) inaugural summer camp curriculum based on a thorough assessment of Central Asian educational realities and international university expectations and standards
•An assessment of both content and pedagogy in mathematics instruction in Central Asia, which continues to be instructive as UCA designs additional programmes for high school students
•One-on-one capacity building of a mathematics teacher, who after successfully teaching the curriculum during UCA’s Summer Camp, has been hired as one of UCA’s first faculty members for its Preparatory Program
•The successful delivery of an innovative and relevant mathematics curriculum at UCA’s inaugural Summer Camp for Grade 10 students
Full story:
The University of Central Asia (UCA) was founded in 2000. The Presidents of Tajikistan, the Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan, and His Highness the Aga Khan, signed the International Treaty and Charter establishing this secular and private University which was ratified by the respective parliaments and registered with the United Nations. The Presidents are the Patrons of UCA and His Highness is the Chancellor. UCA brings with it the commitment and partnership of the broader Aga Khan Development Network.
Naseem Jaffer is an education consultant with 25 years of experience working with underprivileged schools. With her qualifications, a Master’s in Education and a Teaching Certificate in Mathematics, Naseem had all the required skills and experience to add significant value to an educational program. When UCA identified a need to develop its mathematics curriculum for the inaugural Summer Camp, Naseem was approached to take on this assignment as a TKN volunteer.
Having spent so much of her professional life upgrading the maths skills of both teachers and students in underprivileged schools in the United States, with a focus on aligning mathematics curricula to meet national standards, Naseem is familiar with the sense of fulfilment derived from helping the less fortunate. However, through her TKN assignment with UCA, Naseem experienced“an even higher sense of satisfaction”.
When Naseem first arrived in Central Asia, she was tasked with grading and tabulating math results. Her focus quickly shifted to upgrading the curricula. She says, “to get a better understanding of the education system and teaching culture, we visited students and teachers in UCA’s host countries of Tajikistan, Kyrgyz Republic and Kazakhstan. The students were well behaved and the teachers well qualified. In addition, the teachers were very committed despite often working two or even three jobs”. Naseem collated as much information as possible and returned home to continue her assignment.
“On my return, I concentrated on developing the mathematics curriculum for the Summer Camp. The curriculum was based on the gaps we found in the assessment analysis and since the curriculum was for students with varying levels of English-language skills, it had to be written through a different lens”. Naseem also focused on introducing students to topics that are not covered in their school curriculum but are required by international universities, such as graphs and probability.
Following her work developing the curriculum, Naseem returned to Bishkek to train a mathematics teacher who helped the Summer Camp counsellors to deliver the curriculum. In this valuable exchange of skills and experience, Naseem picked up the cultural nuances of Central Asia while the teacher acquired new teaching skills to maximise the benefits of the new curriculum.
Once the Camp was underway, Naseem was constantly in touch to provide assistance and ensure the curriculum was delivered with seamless ease.
TKN assignments vary in their nature and duration but a common thread is the personal and professional fulfilment experienced by volunteers. As Naseem says, “My TKN experience has been extremely rewarding and I can only hope that the students have benefitted from my work and that they apply to study at UCA”.
UCA highly appreciates Naseem’s passionate commitment and exceptional contribution on this significant TKN assignment.
https://www.timeandknowledge.org/math-e ... curriculum
The Arithmetic of Compassion
WE all can relate to the saying “One death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” Our sympathy for suffering and loss declines precipitously when we are presented with increasing numbers of victims. In the 1950s, the psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton studied survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and discovered that a condition he labeled “psychic numbing” enabled them to withstand the psychological trauma of this experience.
Psychologists have since extended Dr. Lifton’s work to show how the concept of psychic numbing has implications in many other situations, such as our response to information about refugee crises, mass extinctions and climate change. This information can be deadening in its abstractness. We struggle to care when the numbers get big. The poet Zbigniew Herbert called this “the arithmetic of compassion.”
How big do the numbers have to be for insensitivity to begin? Not very, it turns out.
Consider the recent death of the Syrian child Aylan Kurdi when his family braved the choppy seas off the coast of Turkey. The image of Aylan lying face down on the beach captivated the world’s attention and even, in short order, resulted in refugee policy changes in countries as far away as the United States. But 14 Syrian children drowned in the Aegean Sea the next day. Did you notice? Did you care?
And even 14 is much higher than necessary to desensitize us. In studies published last year in the journal PLOS One, one of us, Paul Slovic, and colleagues demonstrated that “compassion fade” can occur when an incident involving a single person expands to as few as two people. Participants were asked, in both hypothetical and real situations, to make donations, and to report how they felt about donating, to either a single needy child or two needy children, each of whom was identified with a photograph, name and age. We found that people’s positive feelings about donating declined substantially when the group size was two, and that this decrease was related to lower levels of donations.
In addition to psychic numbing, there is another psychological disposition at work, called “pseudoinefficacy.” This tendency was demonstrated in another study of charitable giving, published this year in Frontiers in Psychology, also by Paul Slovic and colleagues. We found that people might be inclined to send money to an individual person in need, but that if they heard that a second person also required aid but could not be helped, they were less inclined to donate to the first person. Meeting that need no longer felt as satisfying. Similarly, when the need for assistance was described as part of a large-scale relief effort, potential donors would experience a demotivating sense of inefficacy arising from the thought that the help they could provide was but “a drop in the bucket.”
It seems that we are psychologically wired to help only one person at a time. And we don’t even care to do that if we sense that there are others we cannot help.
In addition, we believe that yet another psychological tendency, the “prominence effect,” explains why genuinely well-meaning people (and their governments) so often fail to intervene to prevent genocides and other large-scale abuses. “Prominent” actions or objectives are those that are easily justified, though they may not match our stated social values. For example: Decisions that protect national security or satisfy our attachment to near-term comforts and conveniences are easily justified. Such choices, as Paul Slovic explains in a recent University of Illinois Law Review article, are likely to trump decisions to protect people or the environment, especially when the humans in need or the environmental phenomena in jeopardy (species, habitats, the planet’s climate) are so vast in scale as to seem distant and abstract.
Do we have any choice? Can we change the way our minds instinctively act when psychic numbing, pseudoinefficacy and the prominence effect are triggered?
The psychologist Robert Ornstein and the biologist Paul Ehrlich argued decades ago, in their book “New World New Mind,” that our minds had failed to keep up with the times — that we were, in a sense, cave men and cave women, struggling to deal with modern problems, like nuclear annihilation, to which our minds were not suited. They called for a “conscious evolution” in how we processed information about the modern world, meaning an intentional change in our cognitive habits.
We need to be alert to how psychic numbing, pseudoinefficacy and the prominence effect lead us to act in ways contrary to our values. Doing so can help us to improve our reactions to information about a complex and often upsetting world. Addressing catastrophes like climate change, mass terrorist attacks and refugee crises may be beyond our reach unless we come to terms with how our minds perform the arithmetic of compassion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/opini ... yt&emc=rss
WE all can relate to the saying “One death is a tragedy; a million deaths is a statistic.” Our sympathy for suffering and loss declines precipitously when we are presented with increasing numbers of victims. In the 1950s, the psychiatrist Robert Jay Lifton studied survivors of the atomic bombs dropped on Hiroshima and Nagasaki and discovered that a condition he labeled “psychic numbing” enabled them to withstand the psychological trauma of this experience.
Psychologists have since extended Dr. Lifton’s work to show how the concept of psychic numbing has implications in many other situations, such as our response to information about refugee crises, mass extinctions and climate change. This information can be deadening in its abstractness. We struggle to care when the numbers get big. The poet Zbigniew Herbert called this “the arithmetic of compassion.”
How big do the numbers have to be for insensitivity to begin? Not very, it turns out.
Consider the recent death of the Syrian child Aylan Kurdi when his family braved the choppy seas off the coast of Turkey. The image of Aylan lying face down on the beach captivated the world’s attention and even, in short order, resulted in refugee policy changes in countries as far away as the United States. But 14 Syrian children drowned in the Aegean Sea the next day. Did you notice? Did you care?
And even 14 is much higher than necessary to desensitize us. In studies published last year in the journal PLOS One, one of us, Paul Slovic, and colleagues demonstrated that “compassion fade” can occur when an incident involving a single person expands to as few as two people. Participants were asked, in both hypothetical and real situations, to make donations, and to report how they felt about donating, to either a single needy child or two needy children, each of whom was identified with a photograph, name and age. We found that people’s positive feelings about donating declined substantially when the group size was two, and that this decrease was related to lower levels of donations.
In addition to psychic numbing, there is another psychological disposition at work, called “pseudoinefficacy.” This tendency was demonstrated in another study of charitable giving, published this year in Frontiers in Psychology, also by Paul Slovic and colleagues. We found that people might be inclined to send money to an individual person in need, but that if they heard that a second person also required aid but could not be helped, they were less inclined to donate to the first person. Meeting that need no longer felt as satisfying. Similarly, when the need for assistance was described as part of a large-scale relief effort, potential donors would experience a demotivating sense of inefficacy arising from the thought that the help they could provide was but “a drop in the bucket.”
It seems that we are psychologically wired to help only one person at a time. And we don’t even care to do that if we sense that there are others we cannot help.
In addition, we believe that yet another psychological tendency, the “prominence effect,” explains why genuinely well-meaning people (and their governments) so often fail to intervene to prevent genocides and other large-scale abuses. “Prominent” actions or objectives are those that are easily justified, though they may not match our stated social values. For example: Decisions that protect national security or satisfy our attachment to near-term comforts and conveniences are easily justified. Such choices, as Paul Slovic explains in a recent University of Illinois Law Review article, are likely to trump decisions to protect people or the environment, especially when the humans in need or the environmental phenomena in jeopardy (species, habitats, the planet’s climate) are so vast in scale as to seem distant and abstract.
Do we have any choice? Can we change the way our minds instinctively act when psychic numbing, pseudoinefficacy and the prominence effect are triggered?
The psychologist Robert Ornstein and the biologist Paul Ehrlich argued decades ago, in their book “New World New Mind,” that our minds had failed to keep up with the times — that we were, in a sense, cave men and cave women, struggling to deal with modern problems, like nuclear annihilation, to which our minds were not suited. They called for a “conscious evolution” in how we processed information about the modern world, meaning an intentional change in our cognitive habits.
We need to be alert to how psychic numbing, pseudoinefficacy and the prominence effect lead us to act in ways contrary to our values. Doing so can help us to improve our reactions to information about a complex and often upsetting world. Addressing catastrophes like climate change, mass terrorist attacks and refugee crises may be beyond our reach unless we come to terms with how our minds perform the arithmetic of compassion.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/06/opini ... yt&emc=rss
Farman::only Allah is perfect
""My third conclusion is that order and clear,forward thinking is going to be more important than it has been in the past,again because we are living in an increasingly competitive world. The Jamat in India has institutions,it has leadership and it has a clear vision for its institutions of where they should be going. Those institutions must become increasingly competent,serve you increasingly well,so that as time evolves,the Jamat has strong pillars of development which can assist you with your various programs.And the Jamat in Gujarat is aware of a number of programs which have come into place. Support them,encourage them,seek their assistance. But also be generous.
REMEMBER THAT ONLY ALLAH IS PERFECT. NOTHING ELSE IS PERFECT.So do not expect, do not demand perfection because that is unfair and unrealistic and IT IS IN CONFLICT WITH OUR BELIEF. But what you should seek is competence, sincerity of purpose, unity, measurable goals and answerability. But do not ask of ANY HUMAN OR INSTITUTION THAT IT SHOULD BE PERFECT IN THE ABSOLUTE because that is ONLY OF ALLAH and NO ONE ELSE.""
.....MHI Farman
.....Surat,India
.....November 10,1992
""My third conclusion is that order and clear,forward thinking is going to be more important than it has been in the past,again because we are living in an increasingly competitive world. The Jamat in India has institutions,it has leadership and it has a clear vision for its institutions of where they should be going. Those institutions must become increasingly competent,serve you increasingly well,so that as time evolves,the Jamat has strong pillars of development which can assist you with your various programs.And the Jamat in Gujarat is aware of a number of programs which have come into place. Support them,encourage them,seek their assistance. But also be generous.
REMEMBER THAT ONLY ALLAH IS PERFECT. NOTHING ELSE IS PERFECT.So do not expect, do not demand perfection because that is unfair and unrealistic and IT IS IN CONFLICT WITH OUR BELIEF. But what you should seek is competence, sincerity of purpose, unity, measurable goals and answerability. But do not ask of ANY HUMAN OR INSTITUTION THAT IT SHOULD BE PERFECT IN THE ABSOLUTE because that is ONLY OF ALLAH and NO ONE ELSE.""
.....MHI Farman
.....Surat,India
.....November 10,1992
MHI. Farman:: don't compete
Shamiana at the Ladies club
Nagpur, India
November 15, 1992
""No matter which institutions are functioning within the Jamat, DON'T COMPETE,don't get yourselves into a situation where you are following contradictory policies or programs. Build consensus so that you create synergy. You create synergy amongst programs and institutions for the betterment of the Jamat. There are so many problems that need to be solved that there is work for everybody, and there is NO NEED TO BE COMPETITIVE. And within this concept of competition, within this concern that I have,keep in mind that ONLY ALLAH IS PERFECT.Therefore don't expect of INSTITUTIONS or LEADERS or OTHERS, don't expect perfection, because that is UNFAIR. Don't expect perfection.And if you are being unfair because your expectation is unfair, ask yourself when you make judgments : If I was in a position of authority and others expected of me perfection,how would I feel? And think in those terms, NOT ONLY INDIVIDUALLY, BUT WITH REGARDS TO YOUR INSTITUTIONS. On the other hand SEEK from your institutions COMPETENCE, EFFECTIVENESS, ANSWERABILITY, FORETHOUGHT, these are the qualities that you should be SEEKING in your institutions,but not perfection.NOT PERFECTION.""
Shamiana at the Ladies club
Nagpur, India
November 15, 1992
""No matter which institutions are functioning within the Jamat, DON'T COMPETE,don't get yourselves into a situation where you are following contradictory policies or programs. Build consensus so that you create synergy. You create synergy amongst programs and institutions for the betterment of the Jamat. There are so many problems that need to be solved that there is work for everybody, and there is NO NEED TO BE COMPETITIVE. And within this concept of competition, within this concern that I have,keep in mind that ONLY ALLAH IS PERFECT.Therefore don't expect of INSTITUTIONS or LEADERS or OTHERS, don't expect perfection, because that is UNFAIR. Don't expect perfection.And if you are being unfair because your expectation is unfair, ask yourself when you make judgments : If I was in a position of authority and others expected of me perfection,how would I feel? And think in those terms, NOT ONLY INDIVIDUALLY, BUT WITH REGARDS TO YOUR INSTITUTIONS. On the other hand SEEK from your institutions COMPETENCE, EFFECTIVENESS, ANSWERABILITY, FORETHOUGHT, these are the qualities that you should be SEEKING in your institutions,but not perfection.NOT PERFECTION.""
MHI. Farman::Research & Seva
Darkhana Jamatkhana
Karachi Pakistan
October 26,2000(A.M.)
""One of the phenomena of the industrialized world is that it invests, because it is wealthy,a lot of time and effort in research. And because it invests in research, it develops, more quickly than elsewhere, new ideas, new ways of offering service, new ways of introducing modern technology to education or modern technology to health care.""
******
Farman: Do not engage in theological discussion in the context of seva
"I want to find peace and calm in Northern Areas when Inshallah I visit in May. In the Northern Areas, the demography, that is the way the population is settled in Northern Areas, is such that in Chitral certain percent being Sunnies and certain percent Ismailis. In Gilgit different percentage, and in Hunza different percentage. This is the situation which has carried on for centuries and I do not want that in one place we act in one way and in other differently. I want friendship with everyone. I do not accuse them of being bad Muslims, they are not going to accuse Me to be bad Muslim. But I don't want to hear the accusation ever from anybody about who is a Muslim or who is not, because only Allah has the right to judge. So we should not become involved in theological discussions and when others get involved in theological discussions we should tell them that Quran says "Lakum Dinakum Wali Dini You have your faith, and I have mine."
So let us not get involved in theological discussions. Let each community practice its faith in peace. But what we should do is work with every community for specific projects and programmes that would lead to improvement in better quality of life. It means better education, better health, better housing, clean water. These are the things we want for everybody. This is what I want you to concentrate on. I don't want people in Northern Areas fighting each other. Work with everybody for the common good. That is the objective and that is the only way we can achieve results in Northern Areas. If we start fighting in the Northern Areas we come back 25 years, because all our efforts, all our time will be for fighting each other. So I ask you, you have confidence in the Imam. You may have total confidence in the Imam. This is the direction for us to go. Don't get involved in theological debate. Let us work towards the common good, towards common practical good of the people who live there today and their children who will live in future. That is what I want to work for."
(Rawalpindi, Pakistan March 23, 1983)
******
MHI. Farman: Theological dialectic
Acceptance of Mehmanis
Mumbai, India
September 27, 2013(Morning)
"" As you observe the world around you, you will have seen that today, the Ummah, the Muslim world, is stressed by new forces. And these new forces are causing Muslims to fight other Muslims, to get involved in theological dialectic which has NO PURPOSE -- because you cannot win in theological dialectic. You can have your own opinion, but you CANNOT FORCE THAT OPINION on somebody who does NOT wish to listen to that opinion. So I say to. My spiritual children today: do NOT WANDER, we have our traditions,we have our faith,we have our values that we live by - stay true to those. Practice the faith regularly, and I believe that you will find consistency, happiness and continuity in practicing the faith,which has been traditionally ours.""
Darkhana Jamatkhana
Karachi Pakistan
October 26,2000(A.M.)
""One of the phenomena of the industrialized world is that it invests, because it is wealthy,a lot of time and effort in research. And because it invests in research, it develops, more quickly than elsewhere, new ideas, new ways of offering service, new ways of introducing modern technology to education or modern technology to health care.""
******
Farman: Do not engage in theological discussion in the context of seva
"I want to find peace and calm in Northern Areas when Inshallah I visit in May. In the Northern Areas, the demography, that is the way the population is settled in Northern Areas, is such that in Chitral certain percent being Sunnies and certain percent Ismailis. In Gilgit different percentage, and in Hunza different percentage. This is the situation which has carried on for centuries and I do not want that in one place we act in one way and in other differently. I want friendship with everyone. I do not accuse them of being bad Muslims, they are not going to accuse Me to be bad Muslim. But I don't want to hear the accusation ever from anybody about who is a Muslim or who is not, because only Allah has the right to judge. So we should not become involved in theological discussions and when others get involved in theological discussions we should tell them that Quran says "Lakum Dinakum Wali Dini You have your faith, and I have mine."
So let us not get involved in theological discussions. Let each community practice its faith in peace. But what we should do is work with every community for specific projects and programmes that would lead to improvement in better quality of life. It means better education, better health, better housing, clean water. These are the things we want for everybody. This is what I want you to concentrate on. I don't want people in Northern Areas fighting each other. Work with everybody for the common good. That is the objective and that is the only way we can achieve results in Northern Areas. If we start fighting in the Northern Areas we come back 25 years, because all our efforts, all our time will be for fighting each other. So I ask you, you have confidence in the Imam. You may have total confidence in the Imam. This is the direction for us to go. Don't get involved in theological debate. Let us work towards the common good, towards common practical good of the people who live there today and their children who will live in future. That is what I want to work for."
(Rawalpindi, Pakistan March 23, 1983)
******
MHI. Farman: Theological dialectic
Acceptance of Mehmanis
Mumbai, India
September 27, 2013(Morning)
"" As you observe the world around you, you will have seen that today, the Ummah, the Muslim world, is stressed by new forces. And these new forces are causing Muslims to fight other Muslims, to get involved in theological dialectic which has NO PURPOSE -- because you cannot win in theological dialectic. You can have your own opinion, but you CANNOT FORCE THAT OPINION on somebody who does NOT wish to listen to that opinion. So I say to. My spiritual children today: do NOT WANDER, we have our traditions,we have our faith,we have our values that we live by - stay true to those. Practice the faith regularly, and I believe that you will find consistency, happiness and continuity in practicing the faith,which has been traditionally ours.""
MHI. Farman:: Pluralism - Strengthening of Society and Creativity
Darkhana Jamatkhana
Karachi Pakistan
October 25,2000(P.M.)
My beloved spiritual children,
This happy visit to Pakistan has given me opportunities to give farmans to the Jamat in Pakistan and outside, which are important for our future and I want to address an issue now which is important for the Jamat in Pakistan, but it is also important for the Jamat worldwide. In recent times, countries, communities, groups of people have sought more and more expressions of their own special identity. And this has meant that a number of countries and between countries, various communities have moved in different directions. And it has become a fact of life that in some countries, communities criticise other communities, one interpretation of the same faith criticises another interpretation of the same faith. And I want to have my Jamat understand that this polarization of attitudes is unhealthy for the Jamat, is unhealthy for the people amongst whom you live, it is indeed unhealthy amongst countries. There is a hadith which says that the prophet (salalallah alahi wa alihi wassalam) had said that there will be seventy-two sects in Islam. Whether the prophet actually said that is dependent on the quality of the hadith. But it nonetheless reflects that during the prophet’s lifetime, he recognized that there would be divisions amongst the Muslims. But he made no judgment as to which of those seventy-two sects, of interpretation, was the one to which he would attach greater validity rather than others. He recognized the rights of people to be different. This is a very important aspect of modern life. And it seems to me that my Jamat needs to be clear that human society has the right to be pluralistic. That pluralism is not a weakness of society, if it is allowed to occur within a constructive environment, pluralism is an enhancement, is a strengthening of society.. So wherever my Jamat lives, seek to share this concept, that pluralism can be and is a strength in society if the pluralism has as its objective the construction of a better quality of lives for all people in society.
My beloved spiritual children,
I give you this farman today because in a number of countries in which you live, and indeed here in Pakistan, the notion that pluralism is not only a realism but that it is desirable, has not yet become part of national thinking. And it should become part of national thinking. And I seek from my spiritual children, to understand the importance of building upon pluralism, of building relations with other communities, of strengthening your respective institutions, so that together, you can harness the widest spectrum of human creativity and intelligence to the process of improving the quality of lives of all the people of Pakistan.
Darkhana Jamatkhana
Karachi Pakistan
October 25,2000(P.M.)
My beloved spiritual children,
This happy visit to Pakistan has given me opportunities to give farmans to the Jamat in Pakistan and outside, which are important for our future and I want to address an issue now which is important for the Jamat in Pakistan, but it is also important for the Jamat worldwide. In recent times, countries, communities, groups of people have sought more and more expressions of their own special identity. And this has meant that a number of countries and between countries, various communities have moved in different directions. And it has become a fact of life that in some countries, communities criticise other communities, one interpretation of the same faith criticises another interpretation of the same faith. And I want to have my Jamat understand that this polarization of attitudes is unhealthy for the Jamat, is unhealthy for the people amongst whom you live, it is indeed unhealthy amongst countries. There is a hadith which says that the prophet (salalallah alahi wa alihi wassalam) had said that there will be seventy-two sects in Islam. Whether the prophet actually said that is dependent on the quality of the hadith. But it nonetheless reflects that during the prophet’s lifetime, he recognized that there would be divisions amongst the Muslims. But he made no judgment as to which of those seventy-two sects, of interpretation, was the one to which he would attach greater validity rather than others. He recognized the rights of people to be different. This is a very important aspect of modern life. And it seems to me that my Jamat needs to be clear that human society has the right to be pluralistic. That pluralism is not a weakness of society, if it is allowed to occur within a constructive environment, pluralism is an enhancement, is a strengthening of society.. So wherever my Jamat lives, seek to share this concept, that pluralism can be and is a strength in society if the pluralism has as its objective the construction of a better quality of lives for all people in society.
My beloved spiritual children,
I give you this farman today because in a number of countries in which you live, and indeed here in Pakistan, the notion that pluralism is not only a realism but that it is desirable, has not yet become part of national thinking. And it should become part of national thinking. And I seek from my spiritual children, to understand the importance of building upon pluralism, of building relations with other communities, of strengthening your respective institutions, so that together, you can harness the widest spectrum of human creativity and intelligence to the process of improving the quality of lives of all the people of Pakistan.
Last edited by kmaherali on Mon Dec 21, 2015 5:44 am, edited 1 time in total.
Ya Ali Madad.
A major English newspaper is felicitating unsung hero's of the city.
One which caught my was a Christian couple.
Mark n Younne.
Mark is a real estate broker in suburbs of Mumbai.
He and wife who cook along with one employed Cook.
Serves 35 singles Tiffin on lunch in good quantity that than also be used as a night meal
He serves with personal visit daily to 35 singles seniors staying in gated apartment.
His wife dies the cooking with a helper.
He also spends his time with senior on his daily rounds to comfort them.
They do not charges any money for it.they do it for the love n cause of God.
They attend church n do not participate in giving money there .
Are they in the Eyes of God/ALI a couple to be punished that they avoided the tax in church.
Or they are immensely blessed that they two meal and share 35 meals daily to most deserving n needy.
They have put their body,mind and money for this purpose.
Narrowing understanding of a word can be a disaster for taraqatis also.
Please give your reply.
Is God angry on them or happy for them?
There is no greater religion than service to humanity.(TK& M)
I feel Christians are blessed just a level below Ismailia and much much much higher than Shariatis.
There are 60 million of them mainly Shariatis displaced in one year 2015 are at absolute Mercy of God and Aid.
They perform all act of religion.WHY WHY WHY????
A major English newspaper is felicitating unsung hero's of the city.
One which caught my was a Christian couple.
Mark n Younne.
Mark is a real estate broker in suburbs of Mumbai.
He and wife who cook along with one employed Cook.
Serves 35 singles Tiffin on lunch in good quantity that than also be used as a night meal
He serves with personal visit daily to 35 singles seniors staying in gated apartment.
His wife dies the cooking with a helper.
He also spends his time with senior on his daily rounds to comfort them.
They do not charges any money for it.they do it for the love n cause of God.
They attend church n do not participate in giving money there .
Are they in the Eyes of God/ALI a couple to be punished that they avoided the tax in church.
Or they are immensely blessed that they two meal and share 35 meals daily to most deserving n needy.
They have put their body,mind and money for this purpose.
Narrowing understanding of a word can be a disaster for taraqatis also.
Please give your reply.
Is God angry on them or happy for them?
There is no greater religion than service to humanity.(TK& M)
I feel Christians are blessed just a level below Ismailia and much much much higher than Shariatis.
There are 60 million of them mainly Shariatis displaced in one year 2015 are at absolute Mercy of God and Aid.
They perform all act of religion.WHY WHY WHY????
I cannot comment on other faiths, but if they were Ismailis, then it would be an error to avoid Dasond and do other charitable work.nuseri wrote:They attend church n do not participate in giving money there .
Are they in the Eyes of God/ALI a couple to be punished that they avoided the tax in church.
To Kmaherali: Ya Ali madad.
I feel ashamed to call you even as an ordinary Ismaili.YOUR ARE A BLINKERD Khoja.
Out of 37 meals,they keep 2 for them and 35 for serve needy with thoughts of god n grace in their heart n mind.
They are at 90% level of submission in kind not a pidly 10% also.
The Pir never explained properly,nor the screwed up Alwaez long deads.
There more shariati ginan on word D than practice of Ibadaat by them.
Blinkered means narrow screwed up knowing the word of the writer as to observed on ground.( akin to shariati for 5 candles)
Truth is observering from the Eyes of God.
Please quote farman of last 4 Imam on obligation ratio.
Not any crap of 700 years old.I DISREGARD ALL NON RUHANI STUFF IN TOTAL.
D is an obligatory offering with greater baatin coverage and not a shallow tax of a bully dictator.
Relearn what is Sufi tariqa.
N get out of the shallow Khoja pranalika.
Civilized city of 15 million with moral n cosmopolitan ethics is honoring them.You are nothing.shove that screwed up meaning in your xyz.
Learn what is the meaning of Cosmopolitan Ethics.
I feel ashamed to call you even as an ordinary Ismaili.YOUR ARE A BLINKERD Khoja.
Out of 37 meals,they keep 2 for them and 35 for serve needy with thoughts of god n grace in their heart n mind.
They are at 90% level of submission in kind not a pidly 10% also.
The Pir never explained properly,nor the screwed up Alwaez long deads.
There more shariati ginan on word D than practice of Ibadaat by them.
Blinkered means narrow screwed up knowing the word of the writer as to observed on ground.( akin to shariati for 5 candles)
Truth is observering from the Eyes of God.
Please quote farman of last 4 Imam on obligation ratio.
Not any crap of 700 years old.I DISREGARD ALL NON RUHANI STUFF IN TOTAL.
D is an obligatory offering with greater baatin coverage and not a shallow tax of a bully dictator.
Relearn what is Sufi tariqa.
N get out of the shallow Khoja pranalika.
Civilized city of 15 million with moral n cosmopolitan ethics is honoring them.You are nothing.shove that screwed up meaning in your xyz.
Learn what is the meaning of Cosmopolitan Ethics.
I wonder which Farman of the Imam you are obeying with your nasty language. Dasond is the right of the Imam of the time and has no relationship with any other charity (unless approved by the Imam). It is irrelevant whether a person donates his entire income to charity. Our Pirs have explained it well in our Ginans, but then you have no respect for Ginans.nuseri wrote:To Kmaherali: Ya Ali madad.
I feel ashamed to call you even as an ordinary Ismaili.YOUR ARE A BLINKERD Khoja.
Out of 37 meals,they keep 2 for them and 35 for serve needy with thoughts of god n grace in their heart n mind.
They are at 90% level of submission in kind not a pidly 10% also.
The Pir never explained properly,nor the screwed up
You may want to read further about anecdotes related to MSMS at:
http://www.ismaili.net/html/modules.php ... sc&start=0
Ya ALI Madad:
Appointrd pirs are not God for me.
It is Imam of the time today.
Again you are into crap of 700 years old n made up or real stories.Shariats are doomed because they are stuck into 1400 years old act.
Khojas have slowed their spiritual progress may be they equally stuck into act of 700 years old.
Somebody has told me read farman no 156 of Imam SMS. In relative regards to his own words n pirs of the past.
Okay show me Farman from Hz Ali to MHI stating the ratio or the rate.
One late Alwaez was suspended for this by putting fear in the mind of listeners.
After that period No Alwaez ever speak a word on it.
On what ground and basis you have said they have made an error?
Prove with logics of today n Not a single crap words of dead sufis.
ALI blesses many souls to act on their conscience as he is their very hearts.
ALI know he is them all the time to execute their noble acts.
The couple and their very act is Ibaadat of highest order.
ALI communicates n guide many within selves (Sufi tatiqa) which by passes the the four walls of church,mosque, temples n JK.
IT BYPASSES all mullahs,pandit,priest n mukhis.
A farman is there in ibaadat there is no mukhis or council or dasond with it.
It a link of soul guided by Almighty.
You are ending up a narrow Khoja scholar.
Nothing more, little better or above sharaiti difference of 700 year.
Prove their Error. Who are you to observe that error on what laws n convent of Ismailism.
No Crap words of dead sufis.
This couple are on elevated ibaadat stage where no sharia or physical obligation exist.
They have not erred but broken the shariati shackles of their religion.
They are no more living their normal lives but lives in total submission to will of Ali+lah= Allah/Holy Father.
Prove their error or close your 700 years junky non ruhani stuff shop.or else I will come and shut it.
Appointrd pirs are not God for me.
It is Imam of the time today.
Again you are into crap of 700 years old n made up or real stories.Shariats are doomed because they are stuck into 1400 years old act.
Khojas have slowed their spiritual progress may be they equally stuck into act of 700 years old.
Somebody has told me read farman no 156 of Imam SMS. In relative regards to his own words n pirs of the past.
Okay show me Farman from Hz Ali to MHI stating the ratio or the rate.
One late Alwaez was suspended for this by putting fear in the mind of listeners.
After that period No Alwaez ever speak a word on it.
On what ground and basis you have said they have made an error?
Prove with logics of today n Not a single crap words of dead sufis.
ALI blesses many souls to act on their conscience as he is their very hearts.
ALI know he is them all the time to execute their noble acts.
The couple and their very act is Ibaadat of highest order.
ALI communicates n guide many within selves (Sufi tatiqa) which by passes the the four walls of church,mosque, temples n JK.
IT BYPASSES all mullahs,pandit,priest n mukhis.
A farman is there in ibaadat there is no mukhis or council or dasond with it.
It a link of soul guided by Almighty.
You are ending up a narrow Khoja scholar.
Nothing more, little better or above sharaiti difference of 700 year.
Prove their Error. Who are you to observe that error on what laws n convent of Ismailism.
No Crap words of dead sufis.
This couple are on elevated ibaadat stage where no sharia or physical obligation exist.
They have not erred but broken the shariati shackles of their religion.
They are no more living their normal lives but lives in total submission to will of Ali+lah= Allah/Holy Father.
Prove their error or close your 700 years junky non ruhani stuff shop.or else I will come and shut it.
You have been insulting Ginans and Pirs appointed by our Imam for a long time. This is not allowed on this Forum.
You call the Ginan "Crap" while our Imam call them "Wonderful tradition".
But it is not required from this Forum to be Farman Bardari, it is only required that one should not insult Ismailis and their Imam and their faith and should use polite language. You have failed to do this on all accounts.
Admin
You call the Ginan "Crap" while our Imam call them "Wonderful tradition".
But it is not required from this Forum to be Farman Bardari, it is only required that one should not insult Ismailis and their Imam and their faith and should use polite language. You have failed to do this on all accounts.
Admin
Give, if You Know What’s Good for You
Vancouver, British Columbia — IN the classic children’s story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” when the Grinch discovered the true spirit of the holiday, his “small heart grew three sizes that day.” Dr. Seuss may have been on to something — because it now appears that acts of generosity may bestow physical benefits on the donor.
To be sure, there is plenty to hate about the holidays, when we endure the incessantly cheerful sounds of “Jingle Bells” spilling out of every shop and fight our way through overcrowded airports. But the holiday season can also inspire heartwarming generosity unmatched by other times of year. Charitable giving spikes between October and December, which has become known as the giving season in the nonprofit world.
Our laboratory’s past research has shown that spending money on others enhances one’s own happiness, and that the benefits of such “prosocial spending” hold up around the world, from the United States and Canada to Uganda and India. But could the benefits of giving to others extend beyond happiness, to health?
To explore this, our team at the University of British Columbia recruited 73 adults ages 65 to 85 who had high blood pressure, the leading risk factor for death worldwide. We gave each person a total of 120 Canadian dollars to spend over the course of three weeks, and we measured their blood pressure before and after.
Every week, the participants got a pill bottle fitted with a special cap that recorded the date and time it was opened. Inside each bottle were two $20 bills. The bottles came labeled with instructions about how to spend the money. Some participants always got bottles telling them to spend the money on themselves, while the remaining participants were required to spend the money on others.
Those who spent the cash on themselves purchased anything from wool sweaters and massages to tickets for a panel discussion on the art of tantra. One woman bought face cream she described as being “a miracle.”
Meanwhile, people in our prosocial spending group bought muffins for firefighters, cookies for neighbors and toys and clothing for their grandchildren. One war veteran donated money to a school that had been built in honor of a soldier who had served alongside him in Vietnam.
When participants reported back to our lab, nearly all of them told us they liked getting bottles of money. Using a device that automatically measured their blood pressure, we saw a clear difference between our spending groups. People who spent money on themselves showed no change whatsoever, whereas people assigned to use the money in generous ways showed a significant reduction in blood pressure. To our surprise, this change was similar in magnitude to what is typically observed when people start engaging in regular aerobic exercise.
To see if we could find a similar effect in a broader sample, our team turned to the Midlife in the United States study, which has tracked the health and lifestyles of older adults nationwide. This data set enabled us to examine 186 adults ages 55 to 84 who had been given diagnoses of high blood pressure. Participants were asked how much money they gave each month to friends, family, charities and other people and organizations.
Approximately two years later, these individuals visited research centers across the United States, where their blood pressure was measured. We discovered that the more money people had reported spending on others, the lower their blood pressure was two years later. We thought this effect might be accounted for by variables such as income, physical activity or marital status, but no matter how we looked at the data, financial generosity was linked to lower blood pressure.
This research, conducted with the psychologists Gillian Sandstrom and Sally Dickerson and the geriatric medicine physician Kenneth Madden and is forthcoming in the journal Health Psychology, provides the first causal evidence that spending money on others may improve physical health.
Why would generosity reduce blood pressure?
Although our research was not designed to tackle this complex question, we see some hints in our data that helping others may act as a buffer against the stresses of daily life. Recent findings by the psychologists Tristen Inagaki and Naomi Eisenberger also show that simply writing a supportive note to a friend can protect people from the surge in blood pressure that typically occurs in the face of a stressful event.
Though it might be tempting to prescribe generosity as a supplemental treatment for heart disease, more research is needed. (And, please, don’t stop taking your antihypertensive meds just because you bought a lot of Christmas gifts.)
There may also be such a thing as too much giving. Individuals who devote an overwhelming amount of resources to helping others can experience costs to their own health. And we suspect that harried shoppers scurrying from store to store on Christmas Eve won’t exhibit lower blood pressure.
Still, our research points to the conclusion that embracing the spirit of generosity may not only be heartwarming; it may also be good for the heart. Call it the Grinch effect.
Elizabeth W. Dunn is a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, where Ashley Whillans is a doctoral candidate and a member of the Public Scholars Initiative.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/25/opini ... 87722&_r=0
Vancouver, British Columbia — IN the classic children’s story “How the Grinch Stole Christmas!,” when the Grinch discovered the true spirit of the holiday, his “small heart grew three sizes that day.” Dr. Seuss may have been on to something — because it now appears that acts of generosity may bestow physical benefits on the donor.
To be sure, there is plenty to hate about the holidays, when we endure the incessantly cheerful sounds of “Jingle Bells” spilling out of every shop and fight our way through overcrowded airports. But the holiday season can also inspire heartwarming generosity unmatched by other times of year. Charitable giving spikes between October and December, which has become known as the giving season in the nonprofit world.
Our laboratory’s past research has shown that spending money on others enhances one’s own happiness, and that the benefits of such “prosocial spending” hold up around the world, from the United States and Canada to Uganda and India. But could the benefits of giving to others extend beyond happiness, to health?
To explore this, our team at the University of British Columbia recruited 73 adults ages 65 to 85 who had high blood pressure, the leading risk factor for death worldwide. We gave each person a total of 120 Canadian dollars to spend over the course of three weeks, and we measured their blood pressure before and after.
Every week, the participants got a pill bottle fitted with a special cap that recorded the date and time it was opened. Inside each bottle were two $20 bills. The bottles came labeled with instructions about how to spend the money. Some participants always got bottles telling them to spend the money on themselves, while the remaining participants were required to spend the money on others.
Those who spent the cash on themselves purchased anything from wool sweaters and massages to tickets for a panel discussion on the art of tantra. One woman bought face cream she described as being “a miracle.”
Meanwhile, people in our prosocial spending group bought muffins for firefighters, cookies for neighbors and toys and clothing for their grandchildren. One war veteran donated money to a school that had been built in honor of a soldier who had served alongside him in Vietnam.
When participants reported back to our lab, nearly all of them told us they liked getting bottles of money. Using a device that automatically measured their blood pressure, we saw a clear difference between our spending groups. People who spent money on themselves showed no change whatsoever, whereas people assigned to use the money in generous ways showed a significant reduction in blood pressure. To our surprise, this change was similar in magnitude to what is typically observed when people start engaging in regular aerobic exercise.
To see if we could find a similar effect in a broader sample, our team turned to the Midlife in the United States study, which has tracked the health and lifestyles of older adults nationwide. This data set enabled us to examine 186 adults ages 55 to 84 who had been given diagnoses of high blood pressure. Participants were asked how much money they gave each month to friends, family, charities and other people and organizations.
Approximately two years later, these individuals visited research centers across the United States, where their blood pressure was measured. We discovered that the more money people had reported spending on others, the lower their blood pressure was two years later. We thought this effect might be accounted for by variables such as income, physical activity or marital status, but no matter how we looked at the data, financial generosity was linked to lower blood pressure.
This research, conducted with the psychologists Gillian Sandstrom and Sally Dickerson and the geriatric medicine physician Kenneth Madden and is forthcoming in the journal Health Psychology, provides the first causal evidence that spending money on others may improve physical health.
Why would generosity reduce blood pressure?
Although our research was not designed to tackle this complex question, we see some hints in our data that helping others may act as a buffer against the stresses of daily life. Recent findings by the psychologists Tristen Inagaki and Naomi Eisenberger also show that simply writing a supportive note to a friend can protect people from the surge in blood pressure that typically occurs in the face of a stressful event.
Though it might be tempting to prescribe generosity as a supplemental treatment for heart disease, more research is needed. (And, please, don’t stop taking your antihypertensive meds just because you bought a lot of Christmas gifts.)
There may also be such a thing as too much giving. Individuals who devote an overwhelming amount of resources to helping others can experience costs to their own health. And we suspect that harried shoppers scurrying from store to store on Christmas Eve won’t exhibit lower blood pressure.
Still, our research points to the conclusion that embracing the spirit of generosity may not only be heartwarming; it may also be good for the heart. Call it the Grinch effect.
Elizabeth W. Dunn is a professor of psychology at the University of British Columbia, where Ashley Whillans is a doctoral candidate and a member of the Public Scholars Initiative.
http://www.nytimes.com/2015/12/25/opini ... 87722&_r=0
FARMAN ON PHILOSOPHY AND SOCIAL CONTEXT OF LEADERSHIP
The fourth point which is important is that in your positions of leadership you have authority. Authority which is given. through the appointment by the Imam of the Time to your positions of leadership. But remember that authority has with it duty and the need to serve. There is no authority in My mind which is healthy if it is absolute and it does not take place within a philosophical and a social context. And, therefore, in your leadership to the Jamat, be considerate, be humble, be hard working and share with the Jamat their concerns and their needs. So that they come to you not out of duty and obligation, but they come to you out of affection and respect and love and admiration. And they come to you seeking leadership because the Imam has entrusted leadership to you. So, that is the philosophy in which I wish you to execute the role of leadership which I have given you. (Gilgit, Nov 21, 1987)
The fourth point which is important is that in your positions of leadership you have authority. Authority which is given. through the appointment by the Imam of the Time to your positions of leadership. But remember that authority has with it duty and the need to serve. There is no authority in My mind which is healthy if it is absolute and it does not take place within a philosophical and a social context. And, therefore, in your leadership to the Jamat, be considerate, be humble, be hard working and share with the Jamat their concerns and their needs. So that they come to you not out of duty and obligation, but they come to you out of affection and respect and love and admiration. And they come to you seeking leadership because the Imam has entrusted leadership to you. So, that is the philosophy in which I wish you to execute the role of leadership which I have given you. (Gilgit, Nov 21, 1987)
Giving is the highest expression of our power.
- Vivian Greene
It is in giving that we receive.
- St. Francis of Assisi
Giving liberates the soul of the giver.
- Maya Angelou
Spread love everywhere you go.
Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
- Mother Teresa
Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.
- Pema Chodron
A Single Generosity Enlarges the World.
- Mary Anne Radmacher
- Vivian Greene
It is in giving that we receive.
- St. Francis of Assisi
Giving liberates the soul of the giver.
- Maya Angelou
Spread love everywhere you go.
Let no one ever come to you without leaving happier.
- Mother Teresa
Compassion becomes real when we recognize our shared humanity.
- Pema Chodron
A Single Generosity Enlarges the World.
- Mary Anne Radmacher
Jesus said, "Go, sell everything you have and give to the poor,
and you will have treasure in heaven."
- Mark 10:21
We are rich only through what we give,
and poor only through what we refuse.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
The love of money is the root of all evil:
which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith,
and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things;
and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
- Timothy 6:10-11
Jesus said, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant."
- Mark 10:43
Go to the people.
Live among them.
Learn from them.
Love them.
Serve them.
- Jimmy Yen (Y. C. James Yen)
and you will have treasure in heaven."
- Mark 10:21
We are rich only through what we give,
and poor only through what we refuse.
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
The love of money is the root of all evil:
which while some coveted after, they have erred from the faith,
and pierced themselves through with many sorrows.
But thou, O man of God, flee these things;
and follow after righteousness, godliness, faith, love, patience, meekness.
- Timothy 6:10-11
Jesus said, "Whoever wants to become great among you must be your servant."
- Mark 10:43
Go to the people.
Live among them.
Learn from them.
Love them.
Serve them.
- Jimmy Yen (Y. C. James Yen)
Honorable Means to Worthy Goals
The Means we use must be as pure
as the Ends we seek.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
A good End cannot sanctify evil Means;
nor must we ever do Evil,
that Good may come of it.
- William Penn
Power is not a Means, it is an End.
One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution;
one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.
- George Orwell
Wisdom denotes the pursuing of the best Ends by the best Means.
- Francis Hutcheson
Do the Means justify the Ends?
The Means happen today, and today is where all life happens.
The Ends are in the misty future, and quite ill-defined.
For me, nothing immoral is ever justified.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The Means we use must be as pure
as the Ends we seek.
- Martin Luther King, Jr.
A good End cannot sanctify evil Means;
nor must we ever do Evil,
that Good may come of it.
- William Penn
Power is not a Means, it is an End.
One does not establish a dictatorship in order to safeguard a revolution;
one makes the revolution in order to establish the dictatorship.
- George Orwell
Wisdom denotes the pursuing of the best Ends by the best Means.
- Francis Hutcheson
Do the Means justify the Ends?
The Means happen today, and today is where all life happens.
The Ends are in the misty future, and quite ill-defined.
For me, nothing immoral is ever justified.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
The Romance of Giving
For Valentine’s Day we share the story of Shehzaan and Zainab Chunara, long-time supporters of the Aga Khan Foundation in the Atlanta area who got married in December 2015. Here’s their story of how they met and how they made their wedding a generous gift and a shared commitment to the Foundation and building a better future:
Q: How did you two meet?
Shehzaan: We both belonged to the same Jamatkhana for Ismaili Muslims outside Atlanta and one day we happened to meet. Soon I was asking friends about her, we started talking on Facebook, and got together. We had been going to the same Jamatkhana for over eight years and had never met! That day it was fate. Months later we were engaged, and we set a wedding date for December 26, 2015.
Q: How did you decide to celebrate your wedding with a gift to Aga Khan Foundation?
Shehzaan: As we started planning our wedding, we visited hotels in the Atlanta area and talked to a lot of caterers. It was going to be grand and very expensive. At some point my father mentioned that we could consider having a simpler wedding and donating what we had budgeted to a respected organization like Aga Khan Foundation (AKF). We both grew up knowing about the Foundation and hearing stories about its good work with communities in Asia and Africa, especially the underprivileged. We took that idea and ran with it. What we loved most about selecting AKF was that 100 percent of the proceeds go to the cause of breaking the cycle of poverty by investing in schools, infrastructure, hospitals, and self-sustaining communities around the world. Programs such as microfinance and healthcare cover a broad range of initiatives. It is unusual to find a Foundation that reaches so many people in so many meaningful ways. I don’t think there was any point after making the decision that we reconsidered it for even one second.
Q: How did you tell your friends and family?
Shehzaan: I ran the idea by my friends and they thought it was good, and Zainab discussed it with hers.
Zainab: I told my cousins first. Some had been looking forward to a big shebang, and they asked me, “Are you sure you won’t regret not having a big wedding?” They were thinking of me, wanting to make sure it was what I wanted. Other friends said, “Knowing you, this makes sense.” Shehzaan and I thought it over and I realized: Even without the memories of a super big wedding, I’ll always have that the knowledge that I gave up something big to help other people. Plus, I think we showed that you can have a wedding full of memories without going all out.
Shehzaan: Like I said on the website that AKF’s volunteer team in Atlanta created for us, guys often don’t get into the wedding extravaganza thing. Turning away from that expectation is more challenging for women. I was really inspired by Zainab’s courage making that decision to forego the big deal.
Q: How did you arrange for the gift to Aga Khan Foundation?
Shehzaan: We set an amount around what we and our families had prepared to spend and set that aside as a donation for Aga Khan Foundation. Then we were frugal with what we actually spent on the wedding at the civil ceremony, which would serve as our moment of celebration.
Then what happened next was awesome: Someone from AKF’s volunteer team suggested that other people would want to know about our wedding gift. So the AKF team put up a website where we shared what we were doing and why. Our guests had already planned on giving certain gifts. However, after the website went up and we asked our guests to join us in this effort instead of presenting us with material gifts, donations kept coming. In the end, between the donations from our family and everyone joining in, the overwhelming amount of contributions will help the Aga Khan Foundation break the cycle of poverty.
Q: What does the gift mean for you?
Shehzaan: It feels really good. We have had an impact, in different ways. We spoke with another couple and they went that route too: they donated their wedding’s amount to Focus Humanitarian Assistance and the relief effort for Syrian refugees. We look forward to going to some of the countries where Aga Khan Foundation funds programs in Central Asia, and see what quality of life means there. Zainab said it well: If you make the decision to do this kind of wedding donation, there’s no need to feel like you’re missing out. You can enjoy your wedding and help other people too. People planning their wedding shouldn’t feel scared that this is their only chance for a dream event. You can share your wedding and joy with others, and make it even better.
If you’re interested in doing something similar, please email RD.akfusa@akdn.org.
http://www.akfusa.org/our-stories/the-r ... of-giving/
For Valentine’s Day we share the story of Shehzaan and Zainab Chunara, long-time supporters of the Aga Khan Foundation in the Atlanta area who got married in December 2015. Here’s their story of how they met and how they made their wedding a generous gift and a shared commitment to the Foundation and building a better future:
Q: How did you two meet?
Shehzaan: We both belonged to the same Jamatkhana for Ismaili Muslims outside Atlanta and one day we happened to meet. Soon I was asking friends about her, we started talking on Facebook, and got together. We had been going to the same Jamatkhana for over eight years and had never met! That day it was fate. Months later we were engaged, and we set a wedding date for December 26, 2015.
Q: How did you decide to celebrate your wedding with a gift to Aga Khan Foundation?
Shehzaan: As we started planning our wedding, we visited hotels in the Atlanta area and talked to a lot of caterers. It was going to be grand and very expensive. At some point my father mentioned that we could consider having a simpler wedding and donating what we had budgeted to a respected organization like Aga Khan Foundation (AKF). We both grew up knowing about the Foundation and hearing stories about its good work with communities in Asia and Africa, especially the underprivileged. We took that idea and ran with it. What we loved most about selecting AKF was that 100 percent of the proceeds go to the cause of breaking the cycle of poverty by investing in schools, infrastructure, hospitals, and self-sustaining communities around the world. Programs such as microfinance and healthcare cover a broad range of initiatives. It is unusual to find a Foundation that reaches so many people in so many meaningful ways. I don’t think there was any point after making the decision that we reconsidered it for even one second.
Q: How did you tell your friends and family?
Shehzaan: I ran the idea by my friends and they thought it was good, and Zainab discussed it with hers.
Zainab: I told my cousins first. Some had been looking forward to a big shebang, and they asked me, “Are you sure you won’t regret not having a big wedding?” They were thinking of me, wanting to make sure it was what I wanted. Other friends said, “Knowing you, this makes sense.” Shehzaan and I thought it over and I realized: Even without the memories of a super big wedding, I’ll always have that the knowledge that I gave up something big to help other people. Plus, I think we showed that you can have a wedding full of memories without going all out.
Shehzaan: Like I said on the website that AKF’s volunteer team in Atlanta created for us, guys often don’t get into the wedding extravaganza thing. Turning away from that expectation is more challenging for women. I was really inspired by Zainab’s courage making that decision to forego the big deal.
Q: How did you arrange for the gift to Aga Khan Foundation?
Shehzaan: We set an amount around what we and our families had prepared to spend and set that aside as a donation for Aga Khan Foundation. Then we were frugal with what we actually spent on the wedding at the civil ceremony, which would serve as our moment of celebration.
Then what happened next was awesome: Someone from AKF’s volunteer team suggested that other people would want to know about our wedding gift. So the AKF team put up a website where we shared what we were doing and why. Our guests had already planned on giving certain gifts. However, after the website went up and we asked our guests to join us in this effort instead of presenting us with material gifts, donations kept coming. In the end, between the donations from our family and everyone joining in, the overwhelming amount of contributions will help the Aga Khan Foundation break the cycle of poverty.
Q: What does the gift mean for you?
Shehzaan: It feels really good. We have had an impact, in different ways. We spoke with another couple and they went that route too: they donated their wedding’s amount to Focus Humanitarian Assistance and the relief effort for Syrian refugees. We look forward to going to some of the countries where Aga Khan Foundation funds programs in Central Asia, and see what quality of life means there. Zainab said it well: If you make the decision to do this kind of wedding donation, there’s no need to feel like you’re missing out. You can enjoy your wedding and help other people too. People planning their wedding shouldn’t feel scared that this is their only chance for a dream event. You can share your wedding and joy with others, and make it even better.
If you’re interested in doing something similar, please email RD.akfusa@akdn.org.
http://www.akfusa.org/our-stories/the-r ... of-giving/
The world’s most generous nations
SLIDESHOW
Who gives most generously?
The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has released the 2015 Giving Index, which offers a global picture of how generous people around the world really are. Now in its sixth year, the index measures the average percentage of people who donated money, volunteered, or helped a stranger in the previous month in 145 countries (around 96% of the world’s population). Read on to find out who makes the top 20 most generous countries this year.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/financep ... md#image=1
SLIDESHOW
Who gives most generously?
The Charities Aid Foundation (CAF) has released the 2015 Giving Index, which offers a global picture of how generous people around the world really are. Now in its sixth year, the index measures the average percentage of people who donated money, volunteered, or helped a stranger in the previous month in 145 countries (around 96% of the world’s population). Read on to find out who makes the top 20 most generous countries this year.
http://www.msn.com/en-ca/money/financep ... md#image=1
The world hates change, yet it is the only thing that has brought progress.
- Charles Kettering (1876-1958 - holder of 186 US Patents, including the automotive electric starter)
I can't understand why people
are frightened by new ideas.
I'm frightened of old ones.
- John Cage
Wise men put their trust in ideas
and not in circumstances
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
The world moves, and ideas that were
once good are not always good.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Incite a riot of new ideas.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Ideas, yes.
Inspiration, yes.
Creativity, yes.
Planning, yes.
Perseverance, yes.
More perseverance, yes.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
- Charles Kettering (1876-1958 - holder of 186 US Patents, including the automotive electric starter)
I can't understand why people
are frightened by new ideas.
I'm frightened of old ones.
- John Cage
Wise men put their trust in ideas
and not in circumstances
- Ralph Waldo Emerson
The world moves, and ideas that were
once good are not always good.
- Dwight D. Eisenhower
Incite a riot of new ideas.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Ideas, yes.
Inspiration, yes.
Creativity, yes.
Planning, yes.
Perseverance, yes.
More perseverance, yes.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Our Volunteers | Aga Khan Museum
250 volunteers at the Aga Khan Museum. Amazing! You greet our visitors, are the public face of the museum, and guide countless groups through our galleries. It is a tremendous pleasure to work along side you. You make us great! Thank you for all your hard work. —Henry Kim, Director and CEO
/ismailimail.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/our-volunteers-aga-khan-museum/
250 volunteers at the Aga Khan Museum. Amazing! You greet our visitors, are the public face of the museum, and guide countless groups through our galleries. It is a tremendous pleasure to work along side you. You make us great! Thank you for all your hard work. —Henry Kim, Director and CEO
/ismailimail.wordpress.com/2016/04/18/our-volunteers-aga-khan-museum/
Seeds You Plant
Judge each day not by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
- Robert Louis Stevenson
With every deed you are sowing a seed,
though the harvest you may not see.
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Actions are the seed of fate.
Deeds grow into destiny.
- Harry S. Truman
Anyone can count the seeds in an apple,
but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.
- Robert H. Schuller
The season of failure is the best time
for sowing the seeds of success.
- Paramahansa Yogananda
Plant trees for your great-grandchildren -
for future generations.
Create the legacy of a better world.
Leave this world a better place than you found it.
Literally planting trees for
your great-grandchildren is a wonderful idea,
but far more important...
use this symbolism - this imagery -
to represent the kind of legacy
you want to leave to future generations.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Judge each day not by the harvest you reap, but by the seeds you plant.
- Robert Louis Stevenson
With every deed you are sowing a seed,
though the harvest you may not see.
- Ella Wheeler Wilcox
Actions are the seed of fate.
Deeds grow into destiny.
- Harry S. Truman
Anyone can count the seeds in an apple,
but only God can count the number of apples in a seed.
- Robert H. Schuller
The season of failure is the best time
for sowing the seeds of success.
- Paramahansa Yogananda
Plant trees for your great-grandchildren -
for future generations.
Create the legacy of a better world.
Leave this world a better place than you found it.
Literally planting trees for
your great-grandchildren is a wonderful idea,
but far more important...
use this symbolism - this imagery -
to represent the kind of legacy
you want to leave to future generations.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
Girish Agarwal climbed Mt. Kilimanjaro to raise funds for Aga Khan Development Network
Girish Agarwal aims to raise funds to build toilets and improve sanitation in schools and communities
Girish Agarwal climbed a mountain to prevent death and disease through open defecation. He raised funds to build toilets for girls in 100 schools in India.
There are people who mourn and spiral into depression when they face adversity. And then there are people like Girish Agarwal who make pain their armour and combat challenges that life throws at them. Indian-Canadian, Girish, lost both his sons to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) within days of their birth. The pain of losing his sons led to his resolve of preventing deaths or diseases caused by open defecation and the resultant spread of germs. He scaled Africa’s largest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, on February 29, and raised $60,000 to build toilets for girls in 100 schools in India.
In an interview, last week, he explained how the climb was part of his “Summit of Dignity Initiative” which aims to raise funds to build toilets, improve sanitation in schools and communities throughout India.
Video at:/ismailimail.wordpress.com/2016/05/23/girish-agarwal-climbed-mt-kilimanjaro-to-raise-funds-for-aga-khan-development-network/
Girish Agarwal aims to raise funds to build toilets and improve sanitation in schools and communities
Girish Agarwal climbed a mountain to prevent death and disease through open defecation. He raised funds to build toilets for girls in 100 schools in India.
There are people who mourn and spiral into depression when they face adversity. And then there are people like Girish Agarwal who make pain their armour and combat challenges that life throws at them. Indian-Canadian, Girish, lost both his sons to Sudden Infant Death Syndrome (SIDS) within days of their birth. The pain of losing his sons led to his resolve of preventing deaths or diseases caused by open defecation and the resultant spread of germs. He scaled Africa’s largest peak, Mount Kilimanjaro, on February 29, and raised $60,000 to build toilets for girls in 100 schools in India.
In an interview, last week, he explained how the climb was part of his “Summit of Dignity Initiative” which aims to raise funds to build toilets, improve sanitation in schools and communities throughout India.
Video at:/ismailimail.wordpress.com/2016/05/23/girish-agarwal-climbed-mt-kilimanjaro-to-raise-funds-for-aga-khan-development-network/
Accommodating Volunteers with Disabilities
This is a guest post by Susan J. Ellis, president of Energize, Inc. and originally published in Energize’s Volunteer Management Monthly Update. More of Susan’s “Quick Tips” can be found on the on Energize Web site.
Accessibility and diversity are about accommodating everyone, not just people with disabilities or people who are from minority groups. You want to make volunteering as welcoming to the widest number of people possible
Much of what is recommended to create accessibility for people with disabilities turns out to be helpful to everyone. Adding subtitles to your online videos not only makes it possible for people with hearing impairments to understand the material, but also increases their usefulness for people learning English and for people who do not have headphones handy and want to watch the video with the sound turned down so as not to disturb people around them.
What is a disability, anyway? Large numbers of people wear reading glasses - assistive technology devices - yet many Web sites use tiny font sizes inaccessible to them without their glasses. Some people with physical limitations have far more expertise in various professional and technical areas than able-bodied people. The point is this: Do not divide volunteers into those-with-disabilities and those-without-disabilities.
A volunteer resources manager does not have to become an expert in disabilities to involve people with disabilities as volunteers. Educating yourself about various disabilities in general, however, can help you learn to better accommodate a variety of volunteers in your program.
Identifying Disabilities
Note that many people may never mention that they have a disability and your volunteer application should not ask about disabilities. Not only could this be a violation of laws in your country, but it gives the impression that you match volunteers to assignments based on what they cannot do, rather than on what they can.
Give all volunteers opportunities to tell you what accommodations might need to be made for them to be successful in an assignment. If you discover a volunteer has a disability, you do not have to avoid the subject, but neither do you have to mention it. If you are uncertain about the wants or needs of a volunteer, with or without a disability, ask!
If a candidate says, "I can do everything but such-and-such part of this assignment," consider working with the candidate to accommodate this preference. Perhaps the assignment can be broken up, with different volunteers taking on different pieces, depending on their interests and skills. Such a request does not necessarily mean the volunteer has a disability, however; he or she may lack the skills to do a particular part of an assignment, or not have the time for that piece. If the assignment cannot be broken up to accommodate a candidate, explain why, but also encourage him or her to apply again for other assignments with your organization. Prospective volunteers should know that no to one request does not mean all assignments will be closed to them.
Non-apparent Disabilities
In acknowledging and accommodating different ways people learn and communicate off- and online, you not only create assignments that appeal to a greater variety of people with a range of working styles, you also can accommodate hidden or non-apparent disabilities, such as learning disabilities (the most common form of disability) and emotional and anxiety disorders.
The more you break assignments down by task, the more accommodating you will be for volunteers who have non-apparent disabilities, particularly learning disabilities, as well as for online volunteers who have only a very limited time available to provide service to your organization. Options such as micro-volunteering that take just a few hours over a few days to complete, may be particularly appealing to people who suffer anxiety disorders as well as people who are available only for a short period.
Generous deadlines, which may work well for people with learning disorders or emotional disabilities may also be appealing to volunteers with work schedules that change frequently. Not every assignment can have a flexible deadline. If a task must be done by a specific date, state this clearly in the recruitment message so that those volunteers who cannot meet the set deadline can screen themselves out.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article was written by Susan J. Ellis, president of Energize, Inc. and originally published in Energize’s Volunteer Management Monthly Update. More of Susan’s “Quick Tips” can be found on the Energize Website.
http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsbl ... sabilities
This is a guest post by Susan J. Ellis, president of Energize, Inc. and originally published in Energize’s Volunteer Management Monthly Update. More of Susan’s “Quick Tips” can be found on the on Energize Web site.
Accessibility and diversity are about accommodating everyone, not just people with disabilities or people who are from minority groups. You want to make volunteering as welcoming to the widest number of people possible
Much of what is recommended to create accessibility for people with disabilities turns out to be helpful to everyone. Adding subtitles to your online videos not only makes it possible for people with hearing impairments to understand the material, but also increases their usefulness for people learning English and for people who do not have headphones handy and want to watch the video with the sound turned down so as not to disturb people around them.
What is a disability, anyway? Large numbers of people wear reading glasses - assistive technology devices - yet many Web sites use tiny font sizes inaccessible to them without their glasses. Some people with physical limitations have far more expertise in various professional and technical areas than able-bodied people. The point is this: Do not divide volunteers into those-with-disabilities and those-without-disabilities.
A volunteer resources manager does not have to become an expert in disabilities to involve people with disabilities as volunteers. Educating yourself about various disabilities in general, however, can help you learn to better accommodate a variety of volunteers in your program.
Identifying Disabilities
Note that many people may never mention that they have a disability and your volunteer application should not ask about disabilities. Not only could this be a violation of laws in your country, but it gives the impression that you match volunteers to assignments based on what they cannot do, rather than on what they can.
Give all volunteers opportunities to tell you what accommodations might need to be made for them to be successful in an assignment. If you discover a volunteer has a disability, you do not have to avoid the subject, but neither do you have to mention it. If you are uncertain about the wants or needs of a volunteer, with or without a disability, ask!
If a candidate says, "I can do everything but such-and-such part of this assignment," consider working with the candidate to accommodate this preference. Perhaps the assignment can be broken up, with different volunteers taking on different pieces, depending on their interests and skills. Such a request does not necessarily mean the volunteer has a disability, however; he or she may lack the skills to do a particular part of an assignment, or not have the time for that piece. If the assignment cannot be broken up to accommodate a candidate, explain why, but also encourage him or her to apply again for other assignments with your organization. Prospective volunteers should know that no to one request does not mean all assignments will be closed to them.
Non-apparent Disabilities
In acknowledging and accommodating different ways people learn and communicate off- and online, you not only create assignments that appeal to a greater variety of people with a range of working styles, you also can accommodate hidden or non-apparent disabilities, such as learning disabilities (the most common form of disability) and emotional and anxiety disorders.
The more you break assignments down by task, the more accommodating you will be for volunteers who have non-apparent disabilities, particularly learning disabilities, as well as for online volunteers who have only a very limited time available to provide service to your organization. Options such as micro-volunteering that take just a few hours over a few days to complete, may be particularly appealing to people who suffer anxiety disorders as well as people who are available only for a short period.
Generous deadlines, which may work well for people with learning disorders or emotional disabilities may also be appealing to volunteers with work schedules that change frequently. Not every assignment can have a flexible deadline. If a task must be done by a specific date, state this clearly in the recruitment message so that those volunteers who cannot meet the set deadline can screen themselves out.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
This article was written by Susan J. Ellis, president of Energize, Inc. and originally published in Energize’s Volunteer Management Monthly Update. More of Susan’s “Quick Tips” can be found on the Energize Website.
http://www.wildapricot.com/blogs/newsbl ... sabilities
Don't Wait, Drive Change
Drive Change, don't wait for change to drive you.
The nature of life is constant change.
The world is not the same today as it was yesterday,
and it will be different still tomorrow.
We can be victims of that change, or we can proactively drive change.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
He who rejects change is the architect of decay.
- Harold Wilson
We must become the change we wish to see in the world.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
Change is the essential process of all existence.
- The character Spock on the TV series Star Trek
Drive Change, don't wait for change to drive you.
The nature of life is constant change.
The world is not the same today as it was yesterday,
and it will be different still tomorrow.
We can be victims of that change, or we can proactively drive change.
- Jonathan Lockwood Huie
He who rejects change is the architect of decay.
- Harold Wilson
We must become the change we wish to see in the world.
- Mohandas (Mahatma) Gandhi
Change is the essential process of all existence.
- The character Spock on the TV series Star Trek