Thursday 19 April 2012

What you can get with a billion dollars

In the last post, I asked a rhetorical question - What would you do with a billion dollars ?

Well, I read in the Economic Times today, that it was all too real a question to two people. They were faced with precisely this problem.

Read here , what they actually did. I found this a moving piece and would strongly commend reading it.

16 comments:

Hema said...

Yes, this is moving and a very good cause.It is just so unfortunate for girls to be used as commodities. Liberalising them from these clutches would be a great contribution to the society.

Honestly, when I started thinking about what I would do with a 1 bn, I just couldnt think of anything great that I could do with it. Somehow I thought that whatever one does, it just gets swallowed up by someone who is more cunning or smarter.
All that kept appearing in my mind was that I would go to every signal and every temple and just distribute it to all those who are begging for it.

Reading this is opening up my mind to some innovative thinking.

Appu said...

First, I thought there was a glitch in the reader ;)
Buffet as well as Gates would (Should) be remembered for their philanthropic efforts rather than their other achievements.

Sandhya Sriram said...

this a very paradoxical situation. at one end, there is a so much of demand for philantrophy as there are so many problems to solve and so less money. at another end, there is a lot of people who do want to make a difference, who want to contribute and there is lot of money world wide that is going into philanthrophy but we cant assure whether it found the right channels.

At one end, thre is still so much to do and at another end, there is so much being done.

"Never the twains shall meet" or can i say, it is because the twains dont meet that we aspire to do more and end up doing amazing things

Rika said...

If only parents didn't sell off their girl kids in the first place. Thank God! that while such evil exists there are good people who want to change that and turn it into something positive. Yay!!! to investing in girls.

Shachi said...

Loved this piece - and the money is going for an extremely good cause.

However, we always don't need billion dollars for doing something worthwhile and meaningful.

I always believe in doing my small part - wherever I can, however I can, with even a couple hours of time every week. Hospitals here need so many volunteers - if everyone around me just slept 2 less hours every week, they would bring smiles to so many people. Many middle-school/high-school kids struggle with their subjects and school projects....take some time out and help them. So many toddlers and pre-school kids are lonely....they might have toys, but not much attention from humans...go spend time with them...take your child with you. Small things will eventually make a big difference.

J said...

Every time I think about these guy wrenching stories, I feel the problem cannot be solved unless we also deal with the monsters who want to exploit the young girls. Without the customers, there would be no pimps. My feat is that when you rescue one set of girls from prostitution, they will eventually be replaced by others.

Anonymous said...

Oops feat should read fear

J said...

More typos or subconscious slips.... Gut wrenching not guy wrenching

sulo badri said...

If you are wonderin what sulo badri is upto... this is what i am doing - http://reachripple.wordpress.com/about/

Have started a ripple team in my office which has about 12 members now... but spoke to all managers last week.. will spread word to rest of office soon... speaking to my school n coll frens too :)

Let me know if you n your blog readers n all other ppl related to you would like to join... by mail/call... I will get back :)

To promising times... :)

Ravi Rajagopalan said...

If I had a billion, I would first of all, buy up every single LP made by the incomparable Johanna Martzy, and then devote the rest to saving the girl child.

gils said...

hmmmm...my friend said i've already done my bit for girls by still remaining single..so..billion dollar kedacha selavu panniruven :)

Ramesh said...

@Hema - Imagine the chaos you would create if you distributed a billion at the temple !!!

@Zeno - For both. First they made money and then they gave it away. There is a lesson there. The bleeding heart socialists want to give away before they make anything - actually others should give away !

@Ravi - Yeah, I know. Not just Johanna, but probably every classical musician of past, present and future !! The dollar left after buying all that will be an useful giveaway !!!!


@Sandhya - Oh - of course. The size of any problem can overwhelm. But every small step towards a solution counts.

@Rads - I simply can't understand any parent who can even think of doing that. I don't think they are human.

@Shachi - Absolutely true Shachi. You don't need a billion dollars to start to give away. Actually a rupee from a poor person is probably worth more than a million from a billionaire. And, as Gates has proved, more than the money he gives, it is his involvement and leadership that matters.

@J _ That's the other side of the problem - suppressing demand. But still to every girl who was rescued - it made a massive difference to HER life.

@Gils - Ha Ha Ha. Only you can come up with such a superb comment :)

Deepa said...

I am a pathological romantic and optimist. And I always think everything is possible if you want to make it happen, with one billion or zero billion. This article just fanned my optimism!

Venkat said...

there is something by choice, and some are without choice. those who involve in such cases without choice is something about breaching of human rights, its breaking the law. every movement to recover desevers salute but its only like applying some temporary oinment to the wond, we need to think about curing the wond from it root level.

Ramesh said...

@Deepa - May you always remain a pathological romantic and optimist.

@Venkat - Yes, the wound has to be cured, but its also necessary to alleviate the symptoms for those suffering.

Venkat said...

what you say absolutely important, alleviate is an enourmos effrot, those who do are great people. My thought on this subject is little deeper and comment box is not enough to say.

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