Indeed this is the age of Kali or Kali Yuga an era where everything that just doesn’t seem right reigns. I am not saying this because I am paddling hard under water to be able to float in the sea of life. My measly freelance income is enough to sort out the basics but when I am dealing with house hunting and countless other things that is refusing to get off my shoulder, I am aggressively looking out for a more stable source of income despite the fact that stability, security in employment is a thing of the past.
During my hunt I have met so many interesting personalities, some who ended up landing on my social networking sites the others mere contacts. To me personally this time has also been a time to reflect on the future of my work, what I should be doing and what I should not be doing. In my long walks of house hunting I have learnt a lesson or two trying to understand how people really struggle to make ends meet renting out whatever built up space, rooms and why it was so important to own a house in this nutty island of ours. In the process how potential landlords plan to grow money trees by asking for an years deposit of rental. Just imagine if the rentals are going at Rs. 15,000 and one years of that would be Rs. 180,000. Dump it in a Term Deposit where interest rates are higher there is something extra to look forward to. Not bad I tell you at the expense of a tenant’s hard earned money eh? This means I need to earn enough to be able put aside some money towards a housing deposit, rental apart from trying to meet my basics.
Some of these houses or rented up areas are really not fit for humans or even mice to live. The bathrooms are a nightmare, the kitchen is a suffocated area of purgatory while the rooms are just enough to walk in and walk out. If there was any house that seemed like decent it was beyond my affordability.
As for the job hunt, I do not know whether to chuckle or weep at the job advertisements that appear in the local dailies. There is a stringent age limit for applicants which clearly state over 30’s are not wanted. I may have to be born again to be able to qualify for that age limit. The second bracket of eligibility lifts the age limit to 35. The larger quantum of the adverts call for school leavers with some specifying the age limit from 20-25 BUT asking for ‘the’ best of skills and qualifications. Some even want a picture of the candidate (why?)
Seriously how does one come to the conclusion that someone in their 20’s with limited work experience can have the best of skills and qualifications? Then comes the most important thing to talk about – the cheque or the envelope stuffed with a couple of notes at the end of the month that we all safely tuck in to our wallets. I have sat across several men and women at the peak of their career first eloquently spilling out their ideal candidate and then sheepishly undervaluing the position, skills and the qualifications that go in to the kind of work expected.
As I am reflecting on the absurdities of this ‘squeezing’ experienced in the profit and non-profit sectors (I will come to that later on) both, my phone beeps. The price of a 12.5 gas cylinder will be increased by Rs. 350 at midnight today and a 400g pack of milk powder by Rs. 63 while a 1Kilo pack by Rs. 160. I can now picture all the clucking that will take place when this is aired on news tonight.
Having been a pious worker in the corporate sector cost cutting was always on the cards. It was nothing new but it seems now the ‘squeezing’ is more severe. My existence in the non-profit sector was deemed on the continuity of funding. Scaling down, retrenching, lay off’s, resizing, restructuring became a common trend among these charities from which the funds poured in were drying up. It is only then the good times were often reflected, good times where frighteningly alarming levels of wastage in these non-profits were so obvious. Personally I’ve never been to any of the fancy hotels that so many of the meetings were held all in the name of development and social change. The money spent on breakfast, tiffin, lunch and tea if all put together could have been put towards real social change. Before I became an older pupil at these charities it was quite something to fathom, something that I can never agree even to this day. Days would be spent simply greeting, meeting, talking and eating followed by several power point presentations and plain fibbing talk. A lot of talk but no doing and all the while I would be muttering inside my mind (cut the bullshitting and get down to some real work).
Before the deadly tsunami wave struck it was a case of managing with whatever that was available. A charity was something that an average layman saw as just plain and ordinary. But the tsunami changed the mindset of the average 9-5 worker when millions of donor funding poured into these charities’ bank accounts. People from all layers of supervision got terribly greedy and wanted to cash in the sudden bundles of money. Whatever that was done in the name of disaster relief needs to be closely assessed as how much of quality and value has the actual victim received is still a mystery. The mushrooming of non profits in the country was inevitable and everyone who could cash in on the sudden outpouring of funds did make a killing. Christmas continued…without a single effort or initiative being taken to sustain the extra funding for rainy days !
Good times don’t last and so it was with these lavishly spending charities. The global recession crept, Many countries in Europe who were considered unshakable collapsed and found it hard to continue the generous funding. Suddenly the ‘squeezing’ culture crept into these charities. Single trips were transformed to car pool kind of transportation or KISS movements. Per-diems were reduced amidst a lot of howling. Office spaces were made to fit in maximum to save on electricity. Smaller office areas were being considered. Cost cutting became an important agenda at different forums. Clearly there was no planning or preparation in times of crisis or in the words of these charities there was no contingency planning. With less funds, sustaining jobs, positions became a game of chess. Each was trying to outdo the other and prove that there was no necessity to have the position. Social change and Development was flung into the trash can The challenge with each was how best do I retain my job while deriving the maximum benefit with whatever that was available. .. It turned out to be a dog-eat-dog style of office management.
As I reflect on the what if’s and could have moments, these are one of the wake me up moments where bricks fall on one’s head. It is a time to take a closer look at where they have gone wrong. It is insanity to go looking for cheese in the same dungeons knowing the scarcity or non existence.
The bigger players in the non-profit sector as well as their local partner organisations are really wrestling having to deal with less funding and no promise of new funds coming their way, unable to attract skilled employees because of their inability to pay what is deemed as acceptable for the kind of skills the position calls for. Until now there has never been any effort or initiative to raise funds in one’s own country. The locals are similar to apes good at stretching their hands to the Caucasians. Yes why of course when this country has become a dumping ground for everything from apples, reconditioned cars, cheap branded used electronics, tinned vegetables, fruit (do we really need them?) toothpaste, onions, lentils, and now even tea.
There are millions of locals scattered across the globe with many wanting to give back something to their own country. Why not take the step to make these ex Sri Lankans more conscious about creating change in their own land? There are so many who are doing great for themselves and would be more than happy to be a part of making even a small change.
Within this nutty island of ours taking a count of 21 million people, if we put aside 1 million – children, 1 million – old age, 1 million – differently abled, 1 million-unemployed, 1 million-displaced, 1 million-beggars, and another 4 million for all the drug addicts, prisoners, conmen etc., etc., leaves 11 million. If we aim for just one Rupee per person even if we eventually end up with 1 million only contributing, Think about the difference One Million Rupees can bring ? Maybe the bigger charities will scoff at me but I’d like to call that a ‘Rupee Revolution’
No comments:
Post a Comment