I would take this opportunity to give some idea about my take on living in the context of what I have embarked upon at this time. I believe that everyone has a philosophy of living, whether it is explicit or implicit. People work based on some mental model of living that is developed mostly when they are growing up and augmented with life experiences. Such characteristics as optimism, pessimism, honesty, consideration, courtesy, and behavior have the seeds in the development in early life. It is understood that such characteristics acquired in early life can be changed and the mental model of living can be adjusted, but that is not a natural process. An easy example is the weight problem; even when there are tools to change the mental attitude towards healthy living to control weight, it is quite tricky.
I believe that a mental model with the attitude of service is developed quite early in life through parents, siblings and extended family, and then by the people who would influence us in school or in the community. A child is a great observer and learns by watching more than listening. I may frequently talk about honesty, but if the child observes instances where I am not following what I say, that is what the child is learning. If the child finds me lying, being inconsiderate to others, being disrespectful to elders, and denigrating people of different religion, color, or lower standing in life, then that is the mental model the child may develop when he or she grows up.
Impacting the child to develop the right mental model of life is of vital importance to me as I work with the children in the slums. I believe that it is akin to laying the foundation of a wall; if the foundation is crooked, the wall cannot be built vertically. And if you need to engineer the crooked wall to be vertical, after you have already built it, it will require a lot more ingenuity, effort, and cost to correct it. The best approach is to make the foundation correct in the first place. It is the same with health. Once a severe health problem has occurred, it takes a lot of work to correct or manage the condition. It is far better to start living a healthy life, to begin with, then it is likely you can avoid severe medical conditions down the road. Prevention is definitely better than the cure.
This is one of the primary reasons that I have embarked on a positive mental model in our educational system, to impact the development of children. The effort at this age will make a far-reaching impact on their lives. I believe that this is a critical aspect of our ongoing approach that cannot be overemphasized, and it will affect long-term change.
Photo taken with the children at the DOPS evaluation meeting in Saidpur, Bangladesh.
