by The call is not just to upgrade the lifestyle of the poor ,but rather to provide even the most basic and essential necessities /commodities to one’s reach. Something as basic as drinking water and food .The internet has been one of the key channels in bringing together the best minds in the world to research and develop economical solutions in battling poverty . Be it free tutoring classes online to poor kids or the 100 dollar laptop project for kids in Africa that enabled kids to get access to computers and the internet.
One of the key things that most researchers and the govt.aided NGO’s are missing out on is , its not necessary to give them a one time supply of resources like food ,money or water but to provide them with a self sustainable solution that can last for ages . These are noble deeds , no doubt , that no common man would actually venture into , in his busy workday life, but ultimately an end goal is not reached . The only way is identify solutions that could actually transform lives . I have personally had several discussions with several researchers, NGO’s and other communities in their quest to transform the world and actually make it a better place to live
One such amazing video i watched was that of Cynthia Koenig ,whos innovative and ingenious product could actually reach the extra mile for the poor people living in the deserts of Rajasthan. Her product involves a rotating push trolley that could actually transport a large quantity of water , even in rough terrains and can simply be rolled along like a wheel with a lever. The product is cheaper than we could imagine and could find immense use for ppl living in the desert and has to walk nearly 6 miles to get just a bucket of drinking water
The most interesting part in this idea is that , the inspiration came from a common scene at the airport . Something any guy would overlook. Would anyone bother carrying a pair of heavy suitcases by hand , when you have an easier option of using a trolley ,where you could place the luggage and push it across till your car. Leveraging the same idea in a water carrying container wheel was the result
The power of ideas do not dawn up us at a fixed moment or time, or when people are huddled in conferences . It comes when your mind is open and able to receive ,observe,learn and implement simple ideas we use in day to day life and leveraging them to solve world issues . Doesnt sound difficult and certainly wouldnt so , if you just gave that single try
Another very interesting video I came across in Ted.com is by Christian Sarkar. If his project is properly launched and actually comes into force, it could be the next big thing in solving poverty , bringing equality and closing the divide among people one inch closer .It can fulfill the most impossible of dreams of poor people,owning your own house . What if you hadnt rubbished the thought right away, saying it wasnt feasible or not even close to being cheap in building a sustainable simple house for poor people
Well certainly this man didnt think so . Christian Sarkar formed upon a mini group of people, supporters from various parts of the world, through the internet in midst of making his dream project coming alive. A house for every man
For people who have been forced to live in payments or the dark ghettos , or the houses with hay stacked roofs, his solution can come across as a divine blessing , a gift to mankind . What Christian Sarkar dreamt and actually implemented is something noone could even imagine of . A 300$ house !!
With a group of researchers around the world, he actually managed to build a self sustaining solid house for just 300$ (=Roughly Rs.18,000) .The project was tested in IIT Chennai & also tested across a few other countries and seemed to get some great reviews. The video below explains it all.. Do watch it
(Both these videos were sourced from TED.com)
Franklin Templeton Investments partnered the TEDxGateway Mumbai in December 2012 , which had these 2 distinguished speakers amongst others speaking about their dream projects and how they brought it to life
The greater idea or the greater picture indicates the power of the human mind and its limitless possibilities . It also gives us a huge learning that , its not only a wonderful deed in contributing to the society but also found a huge unexplored ,infinite possibilities in making a fortune at the bottom of the pyramid
