I have always dreamed of going to India. It’s so hard to believe that dream has actually come true! Experiencing the culture, the smells, the colors, the people, and the culture was more awe inspiring and overwhelmingly beautiful than how I ever expected it to be. Particularly amazing was having the experience of meeting 22 beautiful kids that we have supported for years via Asia’s Hope! It’s one thing to donate to a cause, it’s another to meet the people and children who are in need, first hand. It has really put life into perspective for me. Sometimes we get into the daily grind of what we do and we feel like the things that we do don’t really matter, but this trip has taught me is that what we do makes a difference in a way that is more than we can comprehend or even imagine.
Meeting these children and seeing the joy on their faces and learning how their lives have changed over the last year or few years is a radical experience. We enjoyed living everyday life with the kids. We played badminton, jumped rope, danced to Bollywood music, made dumplings, colored, painted nails… and it became very clear that these children now have a real chance at life, can make a real impact, and will have a purpose in their country. It is really inspiring and it drives my ambition to be able to do what we do on a daily basis.
There was so many things that I have taken away from this trip and that I have learned. As Americans, we have so much and compared to the rest of the world we are so rich. Yet, we are so frequently unhappy. Witnessing the lives of the people in North India and interacting with them every day, we saw how happiness isn’t derived from ‘having’. It comes from community.
The two people that are ‘parents’ to these 25 kids in the Asia’s Hope house and the commitment and sacrifices that they have made in order to raise these 25 children was really inspiring. The decisions that these people are making are not only affecting their own lives but the lives of 20+ other people. But that number can be magnified to 40, and even more, with the new chances that the children have been given in life, thanks to these two parents. These children have shown me what true contentment and happiness is, and that is something I will take with me the rest of my life.
At Crimson, the importance of sharing what we have with others is a philosophy we hold dear. We consider it such an honor to partner with our clients and organizations to make a difference all around this wonderful world in which we live.
