Today has been a very satisfying day for me. I participated in an event called “Run For Hope”, organized by Lovedale Foundation. It was just a 5-km run intended to raise funds for constructing a school for the under-privileged children, the funds coming in the form of registration for the event.
The run itself was not anything special. It started around 9 am from Vittal Mallya road and terminated at the same place after about 35-40 mins. The event, attended by hundreds of Bangaloreans, was flagged off by Kannada film actor Ramesh Arvind. Good to know that the stars are involved in such noble causes. At first, I was kind of put off by the media presence at the venue; but later thought it’s a good way of spreading the word. After all, more the publicity such a foundation gets, the better.
I must say I had underestimated the effort it would take to run for 5 kms. I found myself constantly getting tired. I must have covered around 15-20% of the distance walking rather than running.
Throughout the run, I kept asking myself the same question again and again – Was participating in this run worth it? I mean, have I made a significant difference, or any difference at all?
My questions were answered when I completed the run and entered the playground from where we had started. About 20 kids from the foundation were there, clapping and cheering the runners to the finish. One boy of around 9-10 came up to me, offered me a Dairy Milk chocolate, and said “Thank You uncle”. And I must say I have never felt so proud before! This was a “thank you” coming from a kid who has been through a lot of turmoil at a very young age. The kids at the foundation are children of HIV+ parents, some abandoned, some previously exploited. At this tender age, they have faced fear, loneliness, uncertainty, exploitation – they have experienced it all. So a “thank you”, uttered by this boy on behalf of the entire bunch of kids, was nothing short of the greatest compliment ever given to me.
I am happy that I finally got a chance to do something that I have been advocating for a very long time. I just hope that this continues. After all, Hope was today’s central theme wasn’t it? Hope for the children; Hope for their future.
As I said at the beginning of this post – Today, the day I ran for hope, has been a very satisfying day for me.