“Are you from a wealthy family?”
I have been asked this question several times in last few months.
I honestly did not understand why anyone would ask me this question. Then, I always answered, “No, I am not from wealthy family. My husband and I are not wealthy either.”
While I was at a TV interview, I decided to ask the interviewer “why” she posed the question– I assumed that she needed to at least clarify this question for me. She looked a bit surprised and answered, “Because you started a not for profit organization to help older people both in developed and developing countries. Doing something like this may be costly for you.”
I answered, “My husband and I do not need much to live comfortably.”—which I realized later that I was still missing the point…
Yes, it has been a challenge for me to start up a not-for profit organization with limited financial resources. We cannot provide enough help/services that require for the projects to be realized in order to challenge our societal value of aging. However, I have naively been believing that “one day I can have enough support from the people who will pursue their happiness by doing the right thing with me”
Today, I looked at the picture that I took at a small elementary school in Bhutan, and was reminded why my colleagues and I wanted to start “Ibasho” organization. A quote in the image says “the time to be happy is now, the place to be happy is here, the way to be happy is to make other people happy.”
We all have different talent, financial and family situation, passion, and dream. Not one person can bring a change, but I am still hopeful that each of us can contribute what one can to bring a change through pursing our happiness little by little. I hope that Ibasho can motivate people of all ages to pursue their happiness through making our elders happy.
I do hope that Ibasho can provide platform for you to be something so exciting to be a part of (because I am so excited about what I do!).
Please contact with us if you would like to join us for this initiative!
