As Written By Our Volunteer - Annapoorni Shekar
As a part of IIT Bombay's National Entrepreneurship Challenge the Visionate team of SRM University held a seminar on Entrepreneurship for the students. Most start ups begin in college years so to stoke the creative minds and to encourage entrepreneurship we started with a small presentation on "What is entrepreneurship?".Its during this talk that we came to the conclusion that its not the money or the success that inspires one to become an entrepreneur its the motivation to make a difference, drive a change. This lead to our next segment "Entrepreneurship driving change".
Milaap that allows you to help the poor not out of sympathy but because you want to see them achieve their goals,their dreams.This is the reason why all the the pictures you would find on the Milaap website are of cheerful and happy rural people. Yes, they have needs but they don't play the tears or weakness card to find help. Â It gives us a chance to clear the misconception in our heads that the rural poor are sad or distressed, which they are not. They are ambitious, they are entrepreneurial. They don't want charity, they want a helping hand.
We started this session by talking about Milaap. I got the opportunity to talk about an organisation that has inspired me for quite some time now, as an individual first and later as a volunteer. I started the seminar by asking the audience "what according to them was better the act of giving or charity?". As expected most of the audience said charity was better. That is when I started talking about Milaap.
Lila Watson once said :"If you have come here to help me, you are wasting our time.
But if you have come because your liberation is bound up with mine, then let us work together.
I learnt the true meaning of this quote after joining Milaap as a volunteer. You might be helping them but they are helping you in a more significant way. The unique business initiatives by the rural folks such as sheep rearing, piggery unit, tailoring that are put up on our website never cease to inspire you. When a story of mine reaches the site and people start lending money for it, it makes me feel a level of joy that can't be expressed in words.Their dreams and aspirations teach you to have goals and achieve them.
Now coming to the best part, when you help one group its not a donation it's a loan that comes back to you in a period of few months. So that you can lend again and keep adding good deeds to your name. Everyone can lend with the minimum amount being Rs.500 So the next time you save a little extra money a month, make sure you visit Milaap.org. :)Want to 'Volunteer' with us? Â Come and start helping us out here
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