One could argue that we have now identified everything that it takes (‘Who’ is the World’s People, ‘What’ is school education for children under the poverty line and ‘How’ are the Powers of scale & teamwork), therefore, it should work perfectly from here on.
This argument has no doubt some weight, however, all major changes in our world have been initiated by an unexplained & invisible force, a design, a change agent or if derived from the ancients’ principle of “nothing happens before it’s time”, the harbinger of time, though this doesn’t necessarily need to be as preordained as it sounds. It can be a conscious choice of the masses of this world powered by a common dream and a common design to achieve it enabled by an increasingly connected world of today. There is one thing though, the conscious nature of this design necessitates the doers or executors (in this case the masses) to understand it with perfection. Hence this book to facilitate that, before it’s time for the real action.
Come to think of the design to achieve a common goal by the masses of today’s world, I just hear someone shouting from a rooftop saying “network” just at the same time as another one says “internet”. So, that’s the idea to begin with, “network through the internet”. Though profit-making can not be a goal of a venture of this sort, in order to make it successful, it’s important to take a cue or two from the most vibrant examples of success on this newest mass-medium, the profit-making business ventures like Google, Yahoo and Amazon.
We need to focus on basics like the site purpose, target audience profile / lifestyles / interests, site structure & interactive functions etc. But more importantly, we need to clearly understand the venture model (aka business model for a non-profit venture). Since that is of singular importance, let us focus on that first.
We said we have at our hand the epic challenge of providing primary & secondary education to nearly one billion children living in poverty in today’s world, nearly half the total child population on the planet. This would entail making mammoth enhancements in the existing educational infrastructure, nearly doubling it to be specific. That’s easier said than done, but surely not impossible. Let us broadly look at what does an average school need and what can the ‘Who’ in our venture provide. The table below claims virtually everything.
It’s clear that the people can provide everything it takes to wipe out the thought & means inequities from this world. The question is, will they step ahead and take the initiative ? I believe they will given the right level of stimulation.
What should that stimulation be ? Would it suffice to simply create a high level of awareness for the venture, assuming every one has an angel inside them who would come rushing out with open arms to help the underprivileged given a great opportunity ? Or, do we need to go beyond just basic awareness and craft a strong marketing campaign with a solid call to action ? There can be many arguments in favor of both the points of view. However, I tend to agree more with the later.
This doesn’t at all mean that I doubt the basic goodness in all mankind. I have seen so many cases of really well settled folks enjoying swanky careers at top companies achieved after years of struggle, retiring early to do what they claim is their true calling, helping the underprivileged through some serious charity work. Some of the richest people of the world such as Bill Gates and Warren Buffet have also proven to be creditable examples in this area. However, most cases of human kindness are neither as well known nor as noticeable. Almost, every ordinary person is capable of helping those in need and has actually done it more frequently than just a few times.
The question is, are YOU ready to be a part of this revolution NOW ? The REAL revolution. Let me know.
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