Ashoka's mission is to "strive to shape a global, entrepreneurial, competitive citizen sector: one that allows social entrepreneurs to thrive and enables the world's citizens to think and act as changemakers". Their vision is to have "a changemaker world: a world that responds quickly and effectively to social challenges and where each individual has the freedom, confidence and societal support to address any social problem and drive change". Essentially, Ashoka seeks out and supports the leading social entrepreneurs of the world. In doing so, they look for people that are innovative and have new ideas, are creative, have entrepreneurial qualities, want to have a social impact, and have a strong ethical fiber about themselves. They work beyond any specific area, and support entrepreneurs in 63 different countries.
We began the session by trying to define entrepreneurship, and more specifically social entrepreneurship. Words like sustainable business, social profit, community and passion emanated when we discussed social entrepreneurship. And profit, innovation, individual, risk and creativity came up for entrepreneurship alone. Social entrepreneurs are no different than any other type of entrepreneur and should possess all of the same attributes; both are looking to solve a problem. They deviate, however, with the type of problem each is attempting to solve, and with the solution that they implement. A social entrepreneur looks to solve social inequalities or societal problems, and an entrepreneur looks to create a business that resolves a gap in the market. Both must come up with a creative solution to solve a need.
Anyways, as Tanya spoke, I became more and more inspired to work toward becoming a social entrepreneur. Indeed, I did not need to travel half-way around the world to gain this inspiration, in fact, Professor Moledina has motivated me every day to do just this. But, I cannot deny that since my time here, I have become so deeply inspired and affected by the people I have met and the things I have witnessed. My surrounding here and my interactions are simply adding fuel to my fire. At times I have gotten really antsy, and impatient, wanting to start on my path now in this exact moment. But, I need to remember that I am here to learn, and my purpose is to take the initial steps that are necessary to find success in the future. I am still learning how to take risks, how to be innovative, and creative-and I still have so much learning to do! I know I am not going to wake-up one day with all of the answers, I know I will never even come close to that, and so I must keep taking the small steps, patiently, in order to progress forward.
Studying Social Entrepreneurship has given me an outlet and a direction to continue learning and researching. I have always had a feeling in the pit of my stomach, something that is hard to explain, but an itching desire to do something when I witness people who are uncomfortable, and studying SE has shown me that there are real and tangible ways to become a more productive and effective citizen. It is not right to look at another person's life and assume what will make them comfortable, or that they are unhappy, but if there is a way to extend the resources to make people healthier, and give them the options and capabilities necessary to reach their own, personal goals, than I want that to be a possibility.
I have been lucky enough have the resources necessary to reach my own goals, within an arms distance and I think others should have that same luxury, no matter what their end goal is.
Anyways, as my weekend went on I was able to continue building stronger connections with the GSE team, and had a really great time wandering around Bangalore. Saturday, we went to Commercial Street (or Comm. Street as my friend at PremaVidya calls it). Commercial Street is crazy! There are so many people, stores, vendors, and cars packed together. We spent the better half of the afternoon walking up and down this road stopping in stores and experiencing Bangalore fashion. I was able to finally pick up a few pieces of Indian clothing to wear to work, and am so excited to make that transition from Western garb to ethnic Indian clothing. In the evening we ate Indian food for dinner (surprise, surprise) and as always, it was delicious. We wandered the streets a bit more, and ended up going for ice cream before we headed back to the apartments. Once we got home we met up with the rest of the group and sat around talking and playing cards for the rest of the evening.
Sunday (today) a few of us woke up and got a start on our day by heading off to the Iskon Temple. To get there we had to take a bus to the main drag, and an auto from there (which is always a roller coaster!). I am starting to get better at the bus system, but still struggle to get exactly where I need to. Although most people speak English here, so much still gets lost in translation because I struggle to understand other's accent, and they struggle to understand mine. We make due though, and by learning a few Hindi words, and the different gesturers, communication is getting a bit easier. Once we arrived at the temple we were quickly funneled through security with a huge line of other eager locals and visitors. I was surprised by how fast we were escorted through the different temples, and rushed around, but it is a very popular destination, and I suppose they need to deal with the crowds somehow or another.
As we walked into the first temple, we chanted the Maha Mantra 108 times as we stepped on each of the stones that led to the temple. The chant goes like this,
"Hare Krishna Hare Krishna
Krishna Krishna Hare Hare
Hare Rama Hare Rama
Rama Rama Hare Hare".
The temples were absolutely beautiful, and so was the view from the top of the hill on which they sat. Despite the mass of people, filling through all of the temples, and admiring their ornate detail, and the oodles of gold that shined bright against the sunlight, was meditative. The chants and the songs the filled the air added to the visual experience of seeing all the beautiful idols, and it was surprisingly peaceful. I wasn't able to take pictures because they found my camera in my bag and made me check it, but on my way out I was able to snag this photo.
After the temple, we struggle (yet again) to find the correct bus to take us to Mohita's home, and ended up having to take another auto. Mohita is a local of Bangalore and will be attending Wooster as a first year in the fall. It was nice to meet her and her family and to spend time with them in her beautiful home. After which, Sam and I made grilled cheese and tomato soup for everyone for dinner (it wasn't exactly like the traditional American comfort food, but it came close and everyone ate it). Tomorrow, I have to register at the Foreign Registry Office so that I can leave at the end of my stay, and at this point I am just hoping I can still make it to work afterwards!
No comments:
Post a Comment