Sunday, November 25, 2007
Thoughts on Chennai, Cognizant and Thanksgiving...
Many get it twisted and think that Thanksgiving is about being glutenous by overeating, watching football and a four day weekend...
The last conversation I had on Wednesday before starting the long holiday was with an individual who provided insight that I didn't previously know (Hi Kesavan) and guidance on better ways of being charitable.
He indicated that charities in India appreciate seeing donors in person and that I should make the effort to appear in person instead of simply sending money. I guess I have been too indoctrinated into the notion of privacy policies and at some level they help dehumanize the giver's responsibility for being human to others.
His tactic of modesty normally would be irritating but in this particular situation, it worked like a charm. He mentioned abstractly that my money would go far, but didn't provide any concrete examples. Of course, curiosity caused me to do lots of research and oh how I realized that is wisdom was an understatement!
I learned that I could feed 100 school children for only $25! The notion that if every person that reads my blog were to donate $25 to a charity such as Udavum Karangal we could actually make poverty history disappear in India. Sadly, though many will read my blog and become annoyed with me because I want to not only make the discipline of enterprise architecture better, but I am equally passionate about changing the human condition. For those who get are disturbed by the pictures in my blog, I suspect that they are even more disturbed every time they look in the mirror.
My two children were curious why their dad was so emotional while on the computer. When they saw the children and wondered about them and me having to explain how fortunate we are, they both decided to forgo their trip to Chuck E. Cheese and asked to have their monies sent there instead.
I guess, Kesavan and other employees of Cognizant are responsible for teaching my kids the real meaning of Thanksgiving...
| | View blog reactionsThe last conversation I had on Wednesday before starting the long holiday was with an individual who provided insight that I didn't previously know (Hi Kesavan) and guidance on better ways of being charitable.
He indicated that charities in India appreciate seeing donors in person and that I should make the effort to appear in person instead of simply sending money. I guess I have been too indoctrinated into the notion of privacy policies and at some level they help dehumanize the giver's responsibility for being human to others.
His tactic of modesty normally would be irritating but in this particular situation, it worked like a charm. He mentioned abstractly that my money would go far, but didn't provide any concrete examples. Of course, curiosity caused me to do lots of research and oh how I realized that is wisdom was an understatement!
I learned that I could feed 100 school children for only $25! The notion that if every person that reads my blog were to donate $25 to a charity such as Udavum Karangal we could actually make poverty history disappear in India. Sadly, though many will read my blog and become annoyed with me because I want to not only make the discipline of enterprise architecture better, but I am equally passionate about changing the human condition. For those who get are disturbed by the pictures in my blog, I suspect that they are even more disturbed every time they look in the mirror.
My two children were curious why their dad was so emotional while on the computer. When they saw the children and wondered about them and me having to explain how fortunate we are, they both decided to forgo their trip to Chuck E. Cheese and asked to have their monies sent there instead.
I guess, Kesavan and other employees of Cognizant are responsible for teaching my kids the real meaning of Thanksgiving...
