Street children..butterflies or businesspeople?

I wonder, if we ever think about those children we see on the streets - whether it's in India, Nigeria or here in Canada. When I was growing up in India, I've seen kids barely older than me, with tattered clothing and dirty faces along the streets or begging in traffic. In Lagos, I've seen babies begging in heavy traffic or selling water in the go-slow. Even in Toronto, I've seen homeless teenagers on the streets downtown.


As a child in India, my reaction was typically to ignore them and see through them. In Lagos, I use to notice them only in passing, I was too busy with my life. Now in Toronto, I look at them and I wonder what could have brought them to such a situation. In all those scenarios, I have felt guilty about not helping them. With the huge hue and cry today's celebrities have raised about third-world children and charities, the world seems to be overflowing with NGOs and Christian missionaries hell bent on working with the poor. I've always been quite sceptical about this - maybe it comes from growing up in middle-class India, where you're taught to doubt people's motives, especially when they tell you they are trying to help you purely out of the goodness of their heart.


But today I read about an organization, the Butterflies, who were responsible for creating and supporting this, a bank run by children, streetchildren to be very specific. The bank is called Children's Development Bank, and operates only after 6pm in the night, when these children can get away from their menial day jobs as rag-pickers, utensil cleaners and other odd-end tasks. To me the best thing about this initiative was the independence and confidence, it would give these kids. I had parents, family and friends who loved me, supported me and believed in. These children probably did not have too many supporters or believers, until they came into this project. For that, I am grateful to the organization and to the initiative.

I'm sure there are many obscure groups and similar intiatives, but being ignorant about those other groups, does not necessitate or provide justification, if I ignored this wonderful initiative.


Excellent work!

Progressive, we are not...

Although I am feeling sick today, and the last thing I want to do is blog, I cannot resist these few words.

I believe in freedom, in choice, and in your individual right. However, like most citizens, I do not question society's genral norms and rules. D. J. Bourdeaux's article is a fascinating read, and brings forth some valid arguments:

These "Progressives" want America to "progress" back to a state of mind that holds that we ordinary men and women are so naturally weak in mind, body and willpower that we must be protected by heroic white knights from nefarious forces intent on destroying us. Just as feudal lords protected their serfs from being raped and pillaged by invading hordes, so, too, will the modern state protect us helpless and ignorant ordinary folk from unsafe foods, immoral drugs, blackhearted corporations, naughty words and inexpensive foreign products.

He further goes on to conclude,

Of course, when medieval superstitions, stasis and status eventually gave way to individualism, society did not collapse. It thrived as never before. Great cities were built. The profit motive led entrepreneurs to invent lifesaving medicines, more abundant food supplies, vibrant cultural products available to anyone who wished to partake in them and creature comforts undreamed of by even the wealthiest medieval monarchs.

In short, individualism -- and the freedom and free markets that it entails -- sparked and sustained progress as never before.

Today's "Progressives" seek a return to the status and static society in which the few direct and "protect" the many. That, of course, is the opposite of genuine progress.

Well written article.

Long weekend..

Typically in Canada, we have one long weekend in every month of the summer - our excuse to relax, meet with family and friends and enjoy. My family has never used any of these long weekends, except as an excuse to laze at home, and enjoy the fact that we have a 4 day work week :).

Contrastingly, this year it feels like we have used almost all those long weekends - very eventful, I think. Today mark's the end of another long weekend for us - we have one more to go before the acadmeic year sets in. This weekend, we had family visiting, went out to lunch, dinner (constantly and that's surprising for me, since I prefer to eat at home), and we even went to Niagara Falls.

Now, to out of state/country visitors, the Falls are a once-in-a-lifetime setting. For people who live in Canada, especially Ontario, it feels like our only claim to fame..sometimes. Everyone who visits us invariably wants to go see the Falls, so we have been there..quite a few times. However, we din't go to the Falls in the past two years almost, so this visit was quite refreshing..and of course, couldnt resist a few pictures. Since I was the lone photographer in my family :), here are the best shots - aaahh...frameworthy, dont you think?

The Falls on the American side:

The Canadian side of the Falls (the entire horseshoe):
The Falls - both sections together - gorgeous isn't it?
Of course, can't resist ending this with another picture of the Canadian side - look, I even managed to catch a bird mid-flight :)

Bears anyone?

hehehe...still think bein a bear is bad??

Penguins

Scotland

I couldn't resist this blog tonight.

Scotland, the place of my dreams....my escape from banality, anger and other mundane details of life...beautiful Scotland...

Scotland

So far I travel to escape my pain and fears,

so eager am I to reach that final destination,

the journey there takes but a few seconds..

all I do is close my eyes and dream.....

-Angela Archana Vincent

Apologies

Why are apologies so difficult? I am absolutely horrible at apologizing, and I'm talking deep-down-Im-sorry kinda apologies which I reserve for my family and very close friends. The daily humdrum Im sorry's spill out without a momentt's notice and it doesnt affect me at all. But when I do something really stupid, and my family knows what I'm talking about, I cannot apologise. I do not know how to apologise gracefully, when I'm the one trying to make the apology. I have a zillion ideas for a good apology, when someone else has to do it. When that person is moi, I draw a blank.

Anyway, the purpose of all that humdrum is to apologize - in public with all humility (kinda - don't overdo it though, this is a once-in-a-lifetime thing with me, so enjoy it while it lasts) - to my family whom I yell at, throw hissyfits, be moody, sullen, erratic (I think that's enough humility for one day) and so on, for brief moments before the clarity of my usual self regains prominence :):)..For all those moments, and many more which I will not mention, I..aah..umm..ahh......I'm sorry :)

General....

My blogs express my thoughts and opinions more than anything else. I am not political or part of any moral crusade. I write about what I think, and the freedom to do so, I'm very glad about. Tonight, I am not in the mood to write much, so I'll sign off with a few old words of mine.

If nobody knew what happened to you, except the person who victimized you, how would it be? The unknown one is my tribute hoping nobody suffers such a fate:

The Unknown One

Blood drips from the stones
Spreading in an ever-widening pool
Stickily it dries on wounded bones
As the evening turns cool

The hatchet turns rusty brown
As he walks away from the scene
The echoing cries die down
As the blood seeps into the grass green

The shovel thuds against rock
As he digs into the brown earth
Time ticks away on his clock
As he races against time dearth

Green turns brown
As blood and earth mix together
He throws the shovel down
Hurrying as he notices the raw weather

Rain pounds down
Washing away the drying blood
He looks up at the sky with a frown
Even as he drags her body through the mud.

He pushes her into the pit
And starts closing the grave
The skies crumble and split
Thunder and rain, mourning the brave.

The earth welcomes her into its fraternity
Precious against the world she shuns
She lies there for all eternity
Unknown to all but one!

By

Angela Archana Vincent

Judgement and Experience

Good judgement comes from experience, experience comes from bad judgement.

- Mark Twain

Canada Day

In 2005, I officially became a Canadian Citizen, but this country means more to me for a lot longer than that. It's were I identified my faults, my dreams, my abilities and my life. So, today - July 1st - Canada Day - means a lot to me, and to many other Canadians - natives, immigrants, permanent residents, refugees and assorted other members of our very multi-cultural community.

Happy Canada Day to everyone who reads this!