THE WOMEN OF WEST GODAVARI
This story caught my eye last week and it really made me think about the collaborative power of community spirit. As an avid and, indeed active member of the Moodle community (which is an excellent example of the power of a collaborative community) I know only too well how much a group of people can do when they work together to a common goal. In the case of the women of West Godavari they have taken working together to a truly different level.
Living as they do in an area where the average monthly wage is a pittance compared to what we would consider even a minimum wage in thew UK, it is a remarkable testament to them that they came to the rescue of a needy member of their own community.
As anyone will tell you, who has ever tried to galvanise a group of even only 20 people to work together, it is not an easy task. Imagine therefore how remarkable it must have been for over 13,000 women’s groups to work together within 10 days, to raise the $1,373 needed to pay for a life-saving operation for Basavani Hymavathi.
She has 3 children and was told she had a serious heart condition a few months ago. Knowing how impossible it would be for her to find the vast sum of money required for the operation on her own, she approached members of her self-help group. From there the word spread and eventually many tens of thousands of women each contributed less than 25p towards the cost of the operation. A true example of Gestalten – many little wholes making a bigger, greater whole.
At this time of giving and sharing where many of us use the time to think of others, there can be no better example of SPIRITUAL WEIGHTLIFTING than this.
Living as they do in an area where the average monthly wage is a pittance compared to what we would consider even a minimum wage in thew UK, it is a remarkable testament to them that they came to the rescue of a needy member of their own community.
As anyone will tell you, who has ever tried to galvanise a group of even only 20 people to work together, it is not an easy task. Imagine therefore how remarkable it must have been for over 13,000 women’s groups to work together within 10 days, to raise the $1,373 needed to pay for a life-saving operation for Basavani Hymavathi.
She has 3 children and was told she had a serious heart condition a few months ago. Knowing how impossible it would be for her to find the vast sum of money required for the operation on her own, she approached members of her self-help group. From there the word spread and eventually many tens of thousands of women each contributed less than 25p towards the cost of the operation. A true example of Gestalten – many little wholes making a bigger, greater whole.
At this time of giving and sharing where many of us use the time to think of others, there can be no better example of SPIRITUAL WEIGHTLIFTING than this.
posted by Drew Buddie | 4:21 PM
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