Reader’s Spotlight - Sarosha Hansraj
When 10 year old Sarosha Hansraj from Dallas, Texas was younger, her parents told her a story about a farmer who found himself in a difficult situation. He had borrowed money to feed his family, but his crops weren’t enough to pay back the money lender. He then had to take his children out of school and have them work on other people’s farms just to have enough to eat. They told her that this kind of thing happens all over the developing world, and when Sarosha asked her mother what she could do to help, the family sat down together and came up with the organization Children Care for Children.
Last year, Children Caring for Children raised money to provide shoes, socks, school bags and basic school supplies to all 500 girls of the Darnami Girls School in Khost Province, Afghanistan. “It makes me feel good because for a long time, the Taliban did not allow any girls to go to school and now that they have a chance to go to school. I think it is our responsibility to let them feel what it feels like to go to school.”
Now her organization is working to provide dictionaries for all students, boys and girls, of the school above the 4th grade, and basically spreading the word about the organization. “One of my long term goals is to help as many children as I can, because there are 120 million children who do not have any access to primary education. I would also like to go to Afghanistan one day. I would like to meet all the students and have a chance to talk to them.” Each dictionary costs only $5, which is more than most families there earn in a week.
Sarosha credits her desire to help to two things: Her active status as a Girl Scout, where she learns to help others in need, and her religion. “In Islam, service to others is each person’s duty towards society. Everywhere I look, I see people in my community doing volunteer work. Whenever you see a problem, you should take action instead of waiting for other people to fix the problem.”
Do you want to make a change in your world? Here is Sarosha’s advice for getting involved: “Everyone can make a difference. It doesn’t matter how old or young you are or how rich or poor you are. Even $1 makes a difference." IMAGINE! More than half of the world’s population lives on under $2 a day. You should never be shy to help others. It doesn’t matter how much you do or give. All that matters is your intention.
Like Mother Teresa once said:
"It is not how much you do,
But how much love you put in the doing.
It is not how much you give,
But how much love you put in the giving."
To help Sarosha in her cause, go to www.childrencareforchildren.org.
