Skip to main content

Larger or Smaller

Sometimes I get depressed with the things you would most expect to make me happy... I just came out of the MSIF trustees annual reception. With my love for social action, you would expect me to be happy. Moreover, MSIF did make significant grants to A Little Gesture this year, in recognition of my volunteer work and in recognition of my fundraising efforts for the Jp Morgan Challenge. The charities there were inspiring and it is always re-assuring to see how much the Firm and broader colleague population are always so involved and keen to do more. They went through money donated, lives touched, volunteer hours logged - 16000 hours in one month, the equivalent of 8 years of full time employment.  Magic breakfast focused on the importance of providing breakfast to children in primary school, as a means to an opportunity.  But we started with the wrong foot - they said one did not need to go far and give money to far away children because ours needed and 1 in 4 children did not have accesd to a breakfast. It is surprising, true. So I started doing the maths - none of our over 800 children had access to breakfast. In fact, if I was to do proper maths i would probably say that 1 in 100 - in a good day - have access to breakfast. Actualy, I now want to go check the statistics to how many Mozambican children actually have access to primary school! Having said that they do a great job and I was impressed with te statistics and will make sure I get that power point slide with impact done one day.  Then we had ELBA - assisting with unemployment, in particular the young people in the area of Tower Hamlets. They did not need a big speech, because they brought a major asset along - Luiz- who is today an apprentice at the Firm and wants to be an engineer one day. Elizabeth was right - at his age of 18, I would not have been able to stand in a room full of over achieving bankers and told my story.  And then we had Save the Children - another stab to the heart. Hold on, nothing wrong against them, and also not because they did not interview me when I was out of Harvard thinking I could be full time in the social sector (true, not even a first round interview or a thank you but no thanks). And the work they focused on was really inspiring, as it is very close to our children. Prevention of mother to child contagion of HIV in the province of Limpopo - South Africa. Yes, south africa, it explains part of it. South africa is in the end the country suffering with more children dying of AIDS and I believe the one with the most infected population. Yes, that is why it got to Mozambique! That is why I need to work there... And then they said the magic number:325000 children with the funds provided.... That is when I almost lost hope. Is it all worth it? People say it is - small charities are more involving for donours and have a deeper impact per beneficiary. I like to think so - but working for endless hours to then hear that number will always make happy and sad. 

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Time is what makes us different

I heard what is likely to become one of my top 3 favourite quotes on a podcast on Friday. "Time is the only real democratic asset. We are all awarded the same time, it is what we do with it that distinguishes us".  Now, I recognise that most of us need to work with survive and that is not democratic throughout. But on an equal opportunity basis, this is an interesting way of putting it. For many years I did not understand why MS thought my resume was so interesting. In fact, they chased me during the entire recruitment process, even though I had no idea of moving to London or Finance. I wanted to be a consultant and stay in Lisbon forever. But traditional consultants in Portugal saw nothing in me, and MS did not let me go. When I started screening resumes and hiring people a couple of years later is when I understood why I was different. TIME.  I was truly different about what I did with my time. Not necessarily the basics - choice of degree or anything. But really ...

We are not afraid.. are we not?

I see signs saying we are not afraid. Londoners are tough and endured the bombings of WWII. But those Londoners are hardly the same as the ones here today. Yes people in general are resilient, more than we think we can be when looking outside out. That is anywhere in the world, not just in London. And truth be said there is merit in not letting fear control our lives and terrorism win.  Well I just walked into the district line, 5 stations away from Parsons Green and I am afraid. I am not shaking, crying or running away. But I am afraid mostly because it is all so natural. Life must go on I said, as I decided I was not going to cancel my lunch and avoid the tube. But that is what makes it scary. Life goes on and in an effort to not be afraid we recklessly do not change our habits and rely on the stats that more people die on the road then on terrorist attacks. Reality is, the law of probability does not matter because terrorist events are binary.  So I think about my frie...

Wonderful day

What a wonderful day. I am grateful for this newly found ability to enjoy my surroundings. As this was the second weekend in a roll that we were in Lisbon, the should word was quieter than usual and B triggered the crazy thought. Let's just stay home and do nothing! Wow - can we do that, are we allowed? More than allowed, we do that in London all the time and it is possibly one of my few fears if I ever move here - the inability to do what we want over what others want.  We gave it a go and i indulged into cooking us a proper lunch. As we sat  to do nothing after lunch I commented 'what a luxury'. I truly was not familiar with the concept. And even better family came to visit so we had the combination of both worlds. I ended a day with a friend over for dinner over a bottle of wine. I am grateful for all the little moments that filled my day. I am grateful I did so many things I love in a single day, without even expecting. Thank you.