a lesson in fundraising
Saturday, January 28, 2012 at 4:55PM The night the cyclone hit Auroville and the Southeastern Indian coast, it took a very long time for us to realize the full impact of the storm. We were locked most of the next day in our pavillion with little snacks but plenty of water, a deck of cards, and the rest of a bottle of whiskey. It wasn't until later in the evening that we had time to even venture out of the field surrounding us.
When we did, we saw the full extent of the damage. Trees down across the road every ten feet. Sometimes piled on top of one another, making it extremely difficult to pass through. Power lines in a mess on the side of the road. Women carrying water for a mile or longer to bring it to their entire village.
It took even longer for us to realize the full extent that this cyclone would have on our program. Even today, I am still learning the effects it had. Although it was not serious, and we did not see anyone lose their life, we did witness a potentially catastrophic event. Thousands went without clean water and thousands are still without power to this day. We as masters students in a communications program used the skills we came with to help those in need. We learned a valuable lesson in fundraising. Several actually.
Now that we have returned to Paris, that lesson is continuing as we plan an event on campus with little time, zero to no resources, and a group of committed individuals who each have an opinion on a course of action. Welcome to the fundraising and NGO world. There is no better representation for how and why great tasks are so difficult to accomplish.