A BRIGHTER DIWALI

Diwali, the time of the year we all wait for so eagerly, is around the corner! As you prepare for this grand season of sweets and festivities, we encourage you to consider shopping at an NGO. Here are some of the reasons why buying NGO-made products will illuminate your celebrations beyond your expectations:

● The magic ingredients: Products made at NGOs are made with special effort and care. They are not merely artefacts up for sale but tokens of love and gratitude for the kindness bestowed upon them by their well-wishers and supporters.

● Unique charm: Unlike factory-made merchandise, these products hand-made. And just like the humans who create them, each piece is different and has a charm of its own.

● Reliability: A NGO is based on the foundation of timeless human values like empathy, integrity and solidarity. Therefore, providing you with the highest quality of products will be a priority.

● Illuminating actual lives: The revenue collected from your support goes directly to the beneficiaries, ensuring that the very people who create the products are empowered and not some third-party or agent. Meanwhile, you get to use a finely refined commodity that adds value to your life.

● Tangibly changing Lives: By using products made at an NGO, you support communities that are usually socially/economically/intellectually challenged. You boost their morale and allow them to create an environment where they can prove their worth to the rest of the world. 

● A Force of Good: When you support an NGO, you also encourage people around you to widen their horizons. Remember every good action you perform cascades into a butterfly effect, the power of which transcends the sum of its parts.

Photo courtesy - http://www.thealternative.in/lifestyle/6-ways-to-celebrate-an-eco-friendly-diwali-this-year/

A Fresher's Best Bet

One of the main questions we all face in our lives, especially the young among us, is “What kind of job is really worth spending my time and effort on?” While the answer to this question may be subjective, we have compiled a list of reasons why working at an NGO will be a perfect start to your career and future life.

1. Will over Experience: At an NGO, your devotion to the cause and your willingness to work towards it matters more than your experience. Passion will be rewarded.

2. Responsibility: Working for an upcoming NGO will inevitably put you in a position of responsibility. Your work will seriously matter to the organization, not to mention the copious amount of lessons you will learn.

3. Opportunity to build a network: You are bound to meet a lot of talented and driven people at an NGO. Working and networking with them will open up tremendous opportunities for you in the future.

4. The Sweet Struggle: Working at an NGO is challenging. You will be forced out of your comfort zone, and by doing so, build confidence and become a better communicator in a relatively short span of time.

5. Directly affect lives: At an NGO, you will be changing lives for the better, literally. Progress will no longer be an abstract term. Working at an NGO will keep you at your happiest because a better world would be building before your own eyes and you will be one of its architects.

6. Humane Work Conditions: The very basis of an NGO is to show respect and love towards our common Humanity. Unlike the exploitative corporate environment, your uniqueness will be valued by those around you.

7. Launchpad for a great future: While it may be true that the pay here is not always the greatest but nothing reflects on your CV better than having some work experience at an NGO.

8. Seeds of Humanity are sown: Once you spend some time working for an NGO, your perspective on life will definitely change for better. Throughout the rest of your career, whether or not you keep working for an NGO, you will be more moral and benevolent in your choices.

Photo courtesy: http://az616578.vo.msecnd.net/files/2017/01/30/6362134301714971722116709101_success.jpg

THE UNLIKELY WALLFLOWERS

If you follow Advitya on any of its social media pages or if you have ever visited here, you probably have an idea of how happening a place this is. Every day brings with it a plethora of wonderful moments of laughter, frolicsome activities and profound lessons. The first and probably the single most important thing that I learned spending time here was how clueless I was throughout my life, like any average person, about the daily struggles of persons with special needs. It is truly astounding to notice just how many things in life we take for granted and how often we fail to recognize the challenges faced by others. 

Therefore I was certain that a day spent outdoors with Advitya - especially at a place like Aquamagica - was bound to bring with it a lot of fun, challenges and insights. 

Early in the morning of August 23^rd, dressed proudly in their characteristic fluorescent green and bright orange ‘Advitya’ T-Shirts, Team Advitya set forth on a journey to a world of giant water slides and wave pools.

To be honest, I was slightly worried in the beginning. Worried, not for the students, but for the volunteers among us. It just seemed too heavy a task to manage more than twenty special students for a day in a potentially hazardous environment like a water park. In retrospect, I can clearly see that my fear had more to do with my inexperience and the novelty of it all than anything else. Also, it is worth mentioning that something similar happens with “normal” people when they interact with specially gifted people for the first time. We tend to underestimate their emotional intelligence and their ability to adapt to changing circumstances.

My personal favorite experience through the trip, hands down, had to be dancing in the wave pool with my special friends. I can never forget the expressions of joy all around me. At the end of the day, not many of my specially abled friends could articulate exactly how they felt, but I could see by the jolly faces and shattering cries of laughter that every one of them loved it as much as I did. Yes, on the way back, sleep and fatigue overcame everyone but it was all worth it, because we were carrying with us a bagful of sweet and happy memories to cherish for a lifetime.

I encourage anyone reading this blog who might hold any reservations, to make an effort to connect with every specially gifted person you might come across. Once you cross that barrier, you will surely be overwhelmed, to the point of tears, not just by the exhibition of heroic courage and spirit before your eyes but also by the shower of love and generosity that will come your way.

My name is Abhishek Vidhate and I am 19 years old. For almost three months now, I have been working at Advitya as an intern. 

Photo courtesy : https://www.tweetspeakpoetry.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/09/promise-of-humanity-poetry-prompt.jpg