Stop thinking - start acting
Dutch youth representative to the United Nations, committee member at several organisations, founder of Youth4Help and Hindu. That is Kirty Matabadal. She will be joining MUNA as guest speaker. In detail will be described who Kirty actually is.
Kirty grew up in Zoetermeer, studied at Alfrink College as well. After finishing her study, she moved to the United States of America to attend leadership courses for outstanding European students at Drexel University. There she learned she needs to give aid to the ones who are less fortuned and could mean something to them. "In the Netherlands I could grow up in luxury, compared to the people in Third World Countries. I have the privilege to study what I want to, while elsewhere children do not even have access to read and write". Now Kirty studies law at Leiden University. So what makes her so special?
Driven by enthusiasm and perseverance, Kirty wants to make a difference: ''Be the change you want to see in the world''. Therefore she signed up, successfully, for representing the Netherlands at the General Assembly of the UN, New York. Her international experience was what brought her so far in the competition: ''Because of my experience in organizing projects in terms of multiculturalism, youth, women and interreligious projects, I am able to work with diverse young people together and communicate with them". Her three main goals are water, food and education. Without water there is nothing to drink, no irrigation and no hygiene causing poor living conditions. Without food there is no life nor health and without education there ain´t development, she explained.
Kirty Matabadal believes that there is too much talking going on in the world, too many policies and bureaucracy. Therefore her slogan: 'Stop thinking - start acting'. Her approach is to talk with students, instead of talking towards them. She inquires interaction and is open for ideas and questions.
Her inspiration is partially obtained by Hinduism. She strongly believes in both dharma and karma. Also, she is member of the Hindu Student Forum Netherlands, representing the Hindu values for young people. I want to do something for the world. Actively involved is the least I can do. I hope to posit concrete plans at the UN resulting that people really are better off. Example, that because of the ideas, thousands of children in the world can go to school, or that a community is supplied with enough water, or a large group of people have enough to eat. Especially therefore, the time for talking and constantly thinking and talking about what the problems are, must be over.".
Kirty is not making it easy for herself. She said her ambassadorship would only be successful if there are clear changes visible: "If I am able to say: There is no hunger any longer. We have the knowledge that you cannot learn without food. Water and food provide you a better chance for survival and a future full of opportunities".
To ultimately reach the top, belief was required for Kirty. Her religion Hinduism, but also her conviction that she can make a change: " It's time for action".
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Always Dream
Shabnam Ramaswamy. Lived in a shanty, but fought against inequality and now owns both a school, Jagriti Public School, and a court. Having experienced unimaginable events, though ´dreaming´ is what Shabnam got back on track, now helping others, especially children, who are less fortuned to give them a better future.
This article is based on an interview MUNA had with Shabnam Ramaswamy. What I found most intriguing was the way Shabnam formulated her sentences, distancing herself from religion. The word Jagriti is a Sanskrit word 'meaning awakening', she explained us. ''We did not want any religious name as we believe in secularism.'' Secularism is the ideology that society and religion ought to be separated. This seems in contrast as about 95% of India´s population is religious, but coincides with Government´s view. Still this shows that everyone is welcome, and no certain groups are left out.
Already in her early life, aged 16, it went not as Shabnam wanted to. She married a 32-year old men. As I asked her how she was feeling about this, she responded: ''It was an arranged marriage. But internally I was outraged, but could not revolt.'' Shabnam had no choice. However, when Shabnam was 24. ''I was asked to get out of the house. my son was given to me as he did feel that my son looked like anybody from his family. He kept my daughter as he felt that she looked like his mother'', she told.
After long, long procedures she won custody over her daughter as well. For Shabnam, this was the moment to stand up, make a change in the world. She established her own court, namely 'Stree Shakti' meaning 'Power of Women'. I asked why she was only focusing on women, and not went for the society as a whole. ''Women are worst sufferers and children also in our part of the world. It is not because we have any problems with men, but women are ruled by men with no choice or reasoning'', she explained.
Jagriti Public School is MUNA's charity this year. The public school had a turbulent history before it was fully working as now in 2012. When Shabnam went, with both her two children, to New Delhi she had met Jugnu Ramaswamy, who she married later. Together they build Jagriti Public School, in New Delhi.
But there was something at stake. ''The authorities decided to demolish our slum of 30,000 people where our school and night shelter was situated in the heart of New Delhi, we ran from pillar to post''. Shabnam described it as injustice that was being done to them: '' We realized that in today’s market driven world the value of the land mattered and not people. Moreover the poor, according to today's looking good and polished India, did not matter, so they had to be thrown out. In a matter of few minutes our work of 10 yrs was rubble. Flattened was the shelter where more than 500 street kids slept''.
Immediately Jugnu and Shabnam Ramaswamy had alarmed international news agencies, writing articles in for example the English Newspaper. As the magnitude of the action was relatively small, they needed to think of something else. Shabnam described how difficult it was for them to manage that, as the budget was small and where could they build? ''Finally we decided that we are not going to give up the fight, so we decided to move to rural India, where we felt we were needed more, land to build on our own land. We started to dream again, with new hope and passion, we moved to my birth place Katna in West Bengal.''
Just before the school in Katna opened her doors, in 2005, Jugnu Ramaswamy died.
All day children have to be able to get to the public school. As transport facilities are not available for everyone, a driver was needed who could bring them to school. Though I was stunned when I read about the history of the driver. More than a decade ago, the driver threw a handmade bomb at Shabnam and Jugnu. They survived. But I could not imagine that this man, was now the driver for Jagriti Public School? How was he able to gain trust? I asked for an explanation from Shabnam: ''After a month or so after the bombing incident, the driver and 3 of his friends involved in the bombing one night came to the backside in the house and started banging on our bedroom window calling out to us to open the door. They desperately wanted to talk to us. We opened the door. They caught hold of our feet and begged for forgiveness'', Shabnam told.
"For Jugnu and me, this act was great, as we felt they themselves have realized their mistake. We decided to make them a part of us, teach them skills to earn a livelihood, and to send a larger message to the people that we are ordinary people like them wanting to change the socio-political system in the area, and that we can never do t alone and that we are not Gods or Devil. We also make mistakes and that so many people have forgiven us''. This was so extraordinary what Shabnam did. She proved that no one is perfect, giving them a second chance. Giving them a chance for a better future, just like the children.
This week, Shabnam will be at MUNA, speaking to you all. She underlines the importance of such events as she said ''I am looking forward to being part of such a wonderful platform with teenagers. As a teacher it is intoxicating to be surrounded by young minds ready to absorb new ideas, thoughts and world view''. As relations between different areas and thus different cultures are interesting, I asked her what we can learn from her. ''I can inspire and teach the students that it is the individual that matters, do not fear with the thought that you may be alone when you want to work for the larger good of mankind''.
As what became clear was that Shabnam is not going to give up easily. She searches for new opportunities when there seems none. She fights against equality. She dreams on. And that's what brought her so far in life.
