http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WGx-xU6TnU8
"Now that I have seen
I am responsible
Faith without deeds is dead
Now that I have held you
In my own arms
I cannot let go till you are..."
Albertine - Brooke Fraser.
Tonight, I saw "Born Into Brothels". First off, it was brilliantly made. However, it made me think about the effectiveness (and ineffectiveness) of service work. Don't get me wrong, I'm a strong advocate for serving others. But...in the movie, the filmmaker went into a specific brothel community in Kolkata, and taught nine kids to take photographs. Subsequently, those nine kids were motivated to do something with their lives other than hang out in the brothels. Most of them ended up going to either boarding schools, or staying at home but eventually going to a university. This is good. Education is good. But it bugged me, because...what about all the other kids? Doesn't it make more sense to do something through the government, or a giant NGO that affects thousands of children? I mean, I'm glad that these kids' lives were changed, and that they're no longer sitting around in the brothels all day. But...I can't help but think of their younger siblings. How are their lives? Do they have to do more work now that their older sisters and brothers are gone? Are the mothers sleeping with more men per day? Are the fathers beating their wives more now that the kids are gone? I mean, I'm sure some of this is just my personal bias, but...there's got to be a better way to help more kids.
Granted, at the end of the film, it was said that, with the money made from selling the photographs and the movie's income, a school for kids from brothels has been opened in Kolkata. Hurray! This is super!
And I might work there.
But...argh. I just...I can't shake the knowledge that there's so much more that needs to be done. And I feel so blessed that I have the resources to pay for a plane ticket, to have financial support in India, and to work my butt off trying to help these kids get educations so they can do what they want to do- which isn't wash dishes in the brothels.
And I'm reminded again how blessed I am to be able to go to IWU.
11 days. I'm not ready.
-Stephanie
3 comments:
a man was walking along a sea shore. he turned the corner to see the beach completely covered in starfish. He though it was a shame that all those beautiful starfish would die without the water. Then he saw a splash. The source was a young girl. He walked up to her and asked what she was doing. She replied, "Throwing the starfish back in the water so they can live." With care, she threw another in the sea. Baffled, he said, "But there are so many! You could be here for weeks! How can you possibly make a difference??" She simply picked up another, threw it in, and replied, "Made a difference for that one."
Don't forget steph, no great things, just small things with great love.
why not every brothel in india? why stop at india, why not all of asia? all the global south? We can't save the entire world. (that's Jesus' job) =) love the big thinking tho.
ps. world vision is doing a rockstar job. govt's don't always do their job effectively on social issues.
-michelle
Yep. I forget sometimes that making a difference for nine people is still making a difference. And then I remember that I'm one person...so making a difference for two people is still more than matching one to one.
"Just small things with great love."
I feel like I need that stuck on a post-it note in front of my face all day.
Gracias, Michelle. You're super.
P.S. I'm writing my final paper in Human Rights on Apne Aap's work to combat sex trafficking in Kolkata. Glee!
I may or may not have just cited you in my final Human Rights paper.
Topic = effectiveness of Apne Aap, a small NGO in Kolkata / Delhi / Mumbai.
:-p
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