The other day I read about Compassion Day (July 6) in newspaper. The advertisement focused on making the change at home, in the lives of our house help. It said we should help them in opening bank account, education, etc. I quite liked the approach and the focus on this area. In the paper, celebrities talked about how they were making a difference in their own way. I was impressed by Alyque Padamsee in particular. He has helped in the education of his house help's daughter, who after completing her education was working in an ad agency.
Well, I haven't funded any education or taught any kids, but I do try to help both my house helps in whichever way I can. When one of them came to me for work, she said she was in need of money. So I suggested taking up more cooking work because that would help her earn more money. She confided that she was scared of taking up cooking work because people have different tastes and she does not know how to cook North Indian food. I was thinking of getting some help for cooking my dinner (I already had someone for the breakfast and lunch from the time I was working) since by the time the hubby would get home, and I would cook dinner and feed the kiddo, it would be around 10 pm. Therefore, our own dinner would be delayed. So, I thought by getting her to cook for me, I could teach her and also get help. I hired her to cook for me, which she took up very reluctantly. I taught her everything, so that she could get more cooking work. It has been 8-9 months and she has got more work, and that makes me feel good. I have done the same with my morning cooking help too. She used to do the normal cleaning stuff before she started cooking for me. She has been cooking for me for more than 2 years now and slowly I have taught him every single thing - from Poha to Upma, from Rajma to Chhole, from Sandwiches to Idlis, every single thing.
I never think for a second if they need advance. I keep discussing about savings with them, advising them to steer clear of local chit-funds which promise a lot of money but are unreliable.
A few months back, the second one's husband just went somewhere without telling anyone. Obviously, she was upset and disoriented about what to do. She even visited some babas who speculate on where to find him or do some puja-paths which would cost her a bomb. I told her to not go to such people and save money because she has two kids to take care of. Anyways, things are sorted now since her husband came back after few days.
I haven't gone out of my way to do something for them. May be take care of things they want while gifting during Diwali, and generally be considerate towards them as fellow human beings, but I would like to do more. I always feel inspired by reading about people who are doing so much for the less fortunate. I realize that there is a huge gap in income, and therefore, I don't think much when I pay a few hundreds extra once in a while. I just think of how much we spend on a single eat-out, and here they toil for one entire month to probably earn that much money.
Well, I haven't funded any education or taught any kids, but I do try to help both my house helps in whichever way I can. When one of them came to me for work, she said she was in need of money. So I suggested taking up more cooking work because that would help her earn more money. She confided that she was scared of taking up cooking work because people have different tastes and she does not know how to cook North Indian food. I was thinking of getting some help for cooking my dinner (I already had someone for the breakfast and lunch from the time I was working) since by the time the hubby would get home, and I would cook dinner and feed the kiddo, it would be around 10 pm. Therefore, our own dinner would be delayed. So, I thought by getting her to cook for me, I could teach her and also get help. I hired her to cook for me, which she took up very reluctantly. I taught her everything, so that she could get more cooking work. It has been 8-9 months and she has got more work, and that makes me feel good. I have done the same with my morning cooking help too. She used to do the normal cleaning stuff before she started cooking for me. She has been cooking for me for more than 2 years now and slowly I have taught him every single thing - from Poha to Upma, from Rajma to Chhole, from Sandwiches to Idlis, every single thing.
I never think for a second if they need advance. I keep discussing about savings with them, advising them to steer clear of local chit-funds which promise a lot of money but are unreliable.
A few months back, the second one's husband just went somewhere without telling anyone. Obviously, she was upset and disoriented about what to do. She even visited some babas who speculate on where to find him or do some puja-paths which would cost her a bomb. I told her to not go to such people and save money because she has two kids to take care of. Anyways, things are sorted now since her husband came back after few days.
I haven't gone out of my way to do something for them. May be take care of things they want while gifting during Diwali, and generally be considerate towards them as fellow human beings, but I would like to do more. I always feel inspired by reading about people who are doing so much for the less fortunate. I realize that there is a huge gap in income, and therefore, I don't think much when I pay a few hundreds extra once in a while. I just think of how much we spend on a single eat-out, and here they toil for one entire month to probably earn that much money.
