Why We SleepOut Together

This week, for the second consecutive year, I will be participating in the New York Executive Sleepout organised by Covenant House. In the run up to the event, as before, I reached out through all the social channels available to me to seek support in helping young people get off the streets.

My outreach again met with overwhelming encouragement from friends, colleagues and acquaintances. The notion of young people driven to homelessness and having to fend for themselves against all kinds of odds evoked anguish and many people from around the world responded with both financial and moral support. The prospect of yet again laying in a sleeping bag on a concrete floor is not a particularly enticing one as the temperature dips below freezing. But doing so in service to these young kids, in the company of my Accenture colleagues, and ensconced in the warm embrace of support from well-wishers makes it worthwhile.

While I received massive encouragement from many, a few people had differing opinions on what I was embarking upon. Some felt that an event was unnecessary and that a different set of actions would be more effective. Others suggested that I might want to focus my efforts more on the country of my origin - India - which has far greater poverty, than where I currently reside.

I reflected upon all that I heard and decided to pen a few thoughts....

Why spend money on a sleepout event? Wouldn't it be better to simply have everyone donate money?

The first step in any movement is awareness. Awareness goes beyond information. For example, I have known all along that there are homeless people in the world. I have read about them in newspapers. I have walked past them, not just in New York but in most cities around the world that I have set foot upon. Sometimes I have not even noticed them. Often I have avoided their gaze. It took a chance encounter with a group of people who had dedicated their lives to changing this reality for young people, for me to be aware of the acute nature of homelessness.

The next step is a felt experience. Over the past year, I had the opportunity to interact with kids who had been homeless at some point in their lives. Some conversations evoked physical pain in my body. When you look into the eyes of a young kid who was abandoned by their parent...or hear the story of another who had been repeatedly abused through their childhood, what else would you feel but pain?

Yet the final step that galvanizes us into action is......hope! Which is what I felt since my first brush with residents of the Covenant House. Last year during the sleepout, I met incredible kids who emerged from homelessness to create new realities not only for themselves but also helped lift others who suffered a similar fate. As Kevin Ryan, the relentless CEO of Covenant House often says, "homelessness is the least interesting thing" about kids in their shelters. Meeting these wonderful young people, watching the dedicated and caring professionals of Covenant House in action, and joining over 200 executives who chose to brave a raging snow storm and give up a night of comfort in their cozy homes filled me with hope that we could indeed make a positive difference in the lives of people.

What are you doing for other less privileged people? Being an Indian you must be aware that these issues are far more pronounced in your own country.

In different ways this is what I was asked by a few. It is a legitimate question. After all America is a powerful and prosperous nation with a superior standard of life compared to many other countries, mine included.

My connection with India is deep and enduring. I visit every few months and remain connected with the society in a variety of ways. I am proud to work for a company that deeply believes in its core mission to improve the way the world works and lives. Every day, scores of Accenture employees in India partner with local organisations and craft innovative solutions to help address complex socio-economic challenges. During my tenure in India, organising and participating in such efforts was deeply gratifying. Earlier this year, I had a different kind of opportunity as I celebrated 25 years with Accenture. This major career milestone entitled me to a gift of some monetary value. Upon my request, Accenture joined me in making a contribution to Jan Sahas, an organisation working in the hugely overlooked area of manual scavenging. A few weeks later, I met their founder Ashif Sheikh. Being in his presence was both humbling and inspiring in ways that I could never express in words.

Homelessness, however, is a global phenomenon. I came across an insightful article by Carl Jylland-Halverson, a professor in the University of Saint Francis Indiana, who has extensively studied this phenomenon across the world. Sadly, a staggering 100 million youth are estimated to be homeless in the world today. It is a complex issue that needs a concerted response bringing together commitment and expertise from institutions across all sections of the society and government. But more than anything else, it requires each one of us to take action. The plight of a fellow human being is no less acute because of the colour of their skin, the nature of their faith, the extent of their possessions, or where in the world they reside. Whether in New Delhi or in New York, every single action to help alleviate another's suffering is an action worth taking. On November 14, I will have the honour of joining my dear friends from Accenture and other executives who will do just that.

If you have read this entire narrative, I thank you for your patience. I will be extremely grateful for any support you can provide by donating here. No amount is too small to make a difference. It will be an action worth taking.