A mother had three daughters. She was poor and her daughters were always hungry. The first daughter was upset that they did not have enough food to eat, and hoped that some opportunity would come her way to get some food. The second daughter felt angry that they did not have food while those around her had plenty to eat. She began thinking of ways in which she could get some of the food that others had (through hook or crook - whatever worked). The third daughter also looked around her and found that others had enough to eat. But the hook or crook method didn’t appeal to her. She set out to explore how the others had such abundance of food. She thought , if they could have it, so could she. That was the stepping stone to the change in her life.
At aalamba, many of our participants start out as the first daughter, hoping to find any livelihood opportunity to meet their needs. They soon become like the second daughter who had the vision to look around her, but her focus was limited solely on getting a share of the food. If she got that, she was satisfied. But the third daughter made a giant leap. She was similar to the second but differentiated by her values. She was a thinker - she wanted to change her situation; a learner – she wanted to learn from other’s experiences; and a doer, she carved out a path for herself, creating value for herself and others. That is the transition our participants make – from hopelessness to being inspired to creating value.
- Naveen I. Thomas
