Life goes on…

 People give a variety of reactions when we mention the scourge of the earth-the oppressed and the downtrodden. Some cringe, some show pity, some are disgusted and a few try to free them from their despair. Respect is something they don’t get, respect for surviving for so long without aid or interference. They haven’t gone to school like us, life is their classroom. They have learnt to cope with the situations and improvise with new ones on the run. One mistake is all it takes to perish the entire community so there isn't room for failure. Just for this, the ability to go on, they deserve respect. Sustainability is after all survival with security and self respect. How can we aim for sustainable development if these two factors evade them?

To truly make them our equal, it is not enough to just reallocate resources from the rich to the poor. The challenge is to build an institution which can sustain on its own the progress which has resulted from interventions of NGOs or help groups. They need to be independent by

·         Building social structures which take the progress ahead

·         Creating their own resources and capital

·         Increasing their income and building earning capacity.

To summarise, create a community which ensures that its independence is well guarded against those who need the oppressors to thrive.

Some NGOs have taken upon themselves the unenviable task of doing what the governments have failed to fulfil-try to liberate the poor by providing them aids. They try to pull them up and make them equal partners in progress. However, due to dependency on external aids, politics and many reasons their efforts are in vain. If they succeed, they fail to successfully withdraw in a manner that the progress they have brought in the community can be sustained and carried further. The need of the hour is building a sustainable community. Only then can we talk about any development at all. This doesn’t mean that we stop trying; the worst that will happen on failure is the liberation of the oppressed is delayed. They are not losing anything either ways except their shackles if we succeed. Even worse is setting our goals too low. If such an intervention fails, another intervention might not be welcome into the community as they lose hope of any growth at all. Either ways, they will continue surviving as it is all they know how to do. Their life will go on…