Eight years ago I was a recording artist with a very promising career ahead of me. I became pregnant with my son about six months after I got married. Unlike most mothers I planned for the impending arrival of my baby with mixed emotions. I say mixed because I was still arguably caught up in the thought process involved with continuing my music career.
When my son arrived everything changed. Irrevocably so. I was caught up in a whirlwind of emotional chaos and didn’t understand or know how to cope with it. Yet, the moment I stepped into the Immortelle Centre for Special Education, where my son was accepted for day care, the revelation that I was not a victim of anything hit me with full force. That was when I decided to embark on my journey into the world of non profit work. It’s quite an experience delving into an effort that can effect change. There was no time to sit and continually feel sorry for myself as I realised that this was an opportunity to step up as a mother and citizen to hopefully, through my actions, affect the lives of many children with special needs and their families in a positive way. The CAUSE is what was and remains most important to me.
Getting the organisation up and running is no easy task. Finding persons who believe in the cause equally as much, is no easy task. Like any goal or dream worthy of becoming real, a clear, focused and determined mind, free of ego-driven agendas is necessary. You don’t have to have a million dollars to begin the journey toward realising a non-profit organisation. It is important to keep in your vision, the reasons behind your determination to effect change. After all, we are divinely and equally made and what determines where we end up, how we affect the world around us, is all based on one powerful word, CHOICE!!
Creating a country that embraces all citizens and invests in human capital, regardless of physical or mental ability, background, gender and ethnicity is possible. However, we cannot solely depend on any elected government to do it all for us. We have the power to create lasting, impactful, sustainable change. It requires a coming together of minds, passion, awareness building or education and a consistent and committed effort to achieve positive, measurable, end results.
We are well able. When a pebble is thrown into the center of a lake the water always ripples outward. This is the sort of impact the work done by NGOs creates. It is all do-able.
LAURA PIERRE-ESCAYG
Add comment