posted by Shruti on MAD

4 comments

Okay.. This is going to be a very different one from my other posts, yet am hoping a very inspiring one.

This post is about my cousin KP, who at the age of 21 decided to take a step and do something.. what most young adults at his age would never think of. He sure left me proud and inspired.. and I am hoping at the end of this post you too may be left encouraged and influenced to take a small step, like he did to make a difference.

So.. here is what he penned down about his life changing experience..

It’s a MAD life!

Story – Krishna Prasad Raveendran
Photography – Venkatesh Prathik

“I’ve been blessed with a loving family who encourage me in all my endeavors regardless of the result. A family which gives me a helping hand every time I hit rock bottom. I honestly believed I couldn’t be happier than i already was. Then, I discovered MAD.

Hi, I’m Krishna Prasad, lovingly nick named KP. A 21 year old bespectacled, prospective, Mechanical Engineer who loves puttering around in his Enfield. Prospective because the number of backlogs I got is beaten only by my nonchalant stupidity when it comes to engineering. I’m currently working with a youth volunteer network called Make a Difference (MAD), working with orphans and unprivileged children. MAD imparts English communication skills to children in orphanages, street shelters and poor homes.

I teach a class of 8 kids along with two other teachers at Samarthanam Trust for the Disabled, HSR layout.

I have a 2 hour class with them once, every week, on Tuesday, from 6 to 8pm. The most wonderful two hours of my week.

I walked into my first class with the intention of not just teaching them English but also to become a role model for them, and someone for them to look up to and emulate. It’s been two weeks since my last class, and I’m sorry to report that I feel short of what was expected from me both as a teacher and a role model. Yes, their English has improved considerably, but not as much as I wanted it to.

I’m not disappointed though. I know for a fact, in my heart, that my kids love me for who I am. I know this because I got a call last week, from my kids, asking me, no, ordering me to come by and meet them and spend time with them. They love me beyond my failure as a teacher. This is when I realized that I had become something more important to them than a teacher or a role model, something that is missing from their life the most, something that they cherish the most. I had become part of their family.

It was not all good times. There were days when I almost gave up on these kids; times when I wanted to pull my hair out of sheer frustration when these kids just wouldn’t listen to me while I was teaching. I’m not the one to shout or scream, I would usually just walk out for a while to cool off. This is when I developed a new found respect for my teachers for all their patience. I don’t know how they do this every day. I guess they are just better teachers than I am, after all.

Life is funny, because I walked into their class with the aim of teaching them, yet I learned more from them than I could’ve ever imagined. I learned how to be happy with what I have, no matter how small. I learned how to smile in the face of adversity. I learned to appreciate all the love and care I receive from my family. I learned to share. I learned the importance of being honest and humble. I’m, not for one second going to speculate that I’m a perfect man. I’m just a better human being than I used to be, most importantly, a happier one.

I urge YOU to reach out kids like mine. You can Google ‘Make a Difference’ to know all about it and how to be a part of this superb organization. I promise, you will be able to go to bed, every night, knowing that you might have just changed someone’s life and wake up to realize they’ve definitely changed yours.”

To know more about Make A Difference, visit.. http://makeadiff.in/