How can you?

I believe that human beings are born "wired' with compassion in the brains. This is why it is uncomfortable to see people suffering or in need. Even the hardest of hearts feels some kind of discomfort when facing someone in an unprivileged situation. One can argue that this modern society only considers its own interests before looking after others, which is a very hard argument to refute. However, especially because of this "first me" type of priority, once we are successful, we will (or at least should) consider how we can be of help to the world. We are all part of the same ecosystem and there is still so much to be done. There are so many people in need, we should change so much the way we treat our environment, the to-do list is so vast that it is often difficult to transition the compassion into action. Then the question, how can I help? The sparkle for action is simple, you and I should start with caring. Any action will need understanding, planning, support, etc., but it all starts only when we care.

Move

Ceny Tavares is a mentor I have had over the years. He knows my family, he saw me when I was born, and he was a helpful hand in times when my family needed the most. I had the pleasure of meeting him again in Toronto in July 2018, in a time when I was going through some very relevant life decisions. One of the things I asked him was how I could be useful to society beyond just caring for myself, or how I could be certain to choose whatever calling I was feeling I should respond to. His answer was very comforting and today I can see it was very precise. Firstly, he mentioned that this type of question is one of the most common he hears. Additionally, he also mentioned that such questions are one of the main reasons why people don't move while they wait for a "revelation from heaven". The key advice he gave me was: move. Start doing something, and you will be directed towards the thing. Once you have already got your hands dirty, you will gradually have more clarity on the things you should be doing to help others.

Get inspiration

I had the honor of meeting a great success story in India that only happened because someone decided to transform compassion into action. Pranita, an outcast girl growing up in poverty, was able to have a high-level of education through the support of DFN - Dignity Freedom Network. This NGO has the mission of providing high-level education to excluded children in Asia, giving access and hope that would not be possible otherwise. This work started about three decades ago, and it was the fruit of successful and privileged people that decided to care. Mr. Joseph D'Sousa is one of the leaders and founders of DFN. Together with others, he started something that later became a reference in education and inclusion, serving more than 27,000 students across more than 100 schools. One of these students was Pranita, that after completing her education at DFN, decided to pursue a career in healthcare. Today, Pranita is an achieved doctor, and more importantly, an inspiration to many other children that come from the same background (There is an interview with Pranita on this link). Again, this success story exists simply because of a decision to transition from compassion to action.

Join forces

Since the first contact, it has been almost two years partnering with DFN, and we are now venturing into some exciting new possibilities. A group of people is joining forces and making this initiative stronger. Among many others, we have Tayana Lima, Yolymar Reyes, Carolina Belletti, Thiago Melzer, Rodrigo Ferreira, Natalie Castro, Gabriela Ribeiro, Rodrigo Varela, Gabriel Sousa, Queila Lima, David Stocker Jr., Brave Church, Kerotin, and the list goes on. Among all schools for unprivileged children that DFN supports in Asia, this group decided to sponsor a school in the rural district of Kollur, and most recently to launch a sustainable business initiative in Hyderabad that will help some of DFN's past students to have a first job to start their careers.

Going back to the initial question of how you can help, if you already care, it means you are already in the game. The next step is to start doing something that is close to you, and where you can see a need for which you can help to provide. Additionally, there are many successful people like you already working on very cool projects. This might be the shortest and most effective way to start. After all, joining forces is the primary way of helping people to help people. Definitely, in case you feel that the projects in which we are involved are something that touches you, please consider yourself already part of our team. Undoubtedly, you will be a great asset for any project your heart directs you towards. Just do it.