That night, I tossed and turned in bed, unable to forget that tragic scene. It is justifiable to say that I grew up that day. From then on, although I remained a normally fun-loving boy, my perspective of life altered and matured. I now understood how precious life is and my esteem for mine and others’ life increased multifold. I began to look around me with new eyes and saw the huge disparity between my own comfortable circumstances and the wretchedness in the life of many of my country’s children. That year, my school began to take us on visits to nearby poor settlements to encourage us to understand and try to alleviate the plight of these poor and disadvantaged people. More and more, I wanted to do something personally to help them, especially the youngsters.
When I discussed this desire with my parents, they immediately agreed to join me in my efforts. They explained to me that merely raising money or clothes for these indigent kids was a temporary measure. It would be much better to train them to earn these things for themselves so that they could live lives of dignity. So with my parents’ assistance, I established an NGO, “Indus Foundations”. Being the head boy, and captain of water polo state team indeed helped me form the NGO since I had a experience in managing the team members, cooperating with them, contacting people , calling meetings but indubitably the NGO work helped me hoe deeper into these skills.

Our organization reaches out to poor kids who have a desire to work towards bettering their lives. When we surveyed we found that that the kids wanted to learn, they were inquisitive about things .We then decided to impart basic education and conduct various events. For instance, we created science – learning kits for students to give them practical experiences. Teaching them was a knotty job but indeed enabled me to inculcate patience and self control. We also try to teach them elementary hygiene, since the conditions of life in slum areas is otherwise unsanitary. Working with the children in their area was really a different experience, learnt a lot of good things from them. We have achieved success with many young students and, therefore, great satisfaction for ourselves. A country such as India, in which 70% of its population lives on or below the poverty line, is caught in a terrible catch – indigence breeds illiteracy and illiteracy breeds indigence.

“Indus Foundation” has approached more than twenty five schools; with help for their poor students, especially regarding science projects. We have also arranged for eminent guest lecturers to motivate these youngsters. In addition, we have organized several dental, eye and general health checkup camps for them. We believe Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam’s words that “Educated youth is the strongest resource any nation can have.”
Seeds of tomorrow are sown today. Today, whenever I see a zigzag bolt of lightning in the sky, I am always reminded of that momentous occasion that altered my life. My vision is clear now. I aspire to make the most of this mortal life gifted to me. The lightening has struck my conscience and kindled a flame of service to my brethren. I hope to take my NGO even further, to continue to work unremittingly for my country’s destitute youth. I hope that my country will wake up to see a better tomorrow with a strong, educated, self-sufficient and cultured youth as its pillar-stone. I am committed to play my role to make this dream come true.