There is a hunger for a deeper kind of learning and creativity within each one of us. Peter Senge writes, “Real learning gets to the heart of what it means to be human.” In Calcutta, my friend Suraj and I experienced what being human was like. Walking through a dark alley in the pouring rain, the damp air, the rows of women staring, the smell of alcohol – every sense was heightened and I do not know where to begin describing the start of a trip that changed both our lives. The Amber Initiative is an organization that focuses on connecting youth with the great injustice that we first witnessed in Calcutta. What started out as a project proposal for me as a delegate at the Global Engagement Summit turned into an independent trip to Calcutta, India; and finally grew exponentially to an organization that has been presented on the national radio in Singapore, to schools and churches and even contacted by MTV EXIT. So the story begins.

In July 2008, Suraj and I went to Calcutta, and I still do not understand how this happened, but without any prior arrangements, we visited the brothels of Calcutta on the very first day we arrived. This is all thanks to a wonderful non governmental organization called Sanlaap, which works against gender injustice, including trafficking of women and children for commercial sexual exploitation, abuse, and prostitution. Located in the heart of the red light district of Calcutta were Sanlaap’s community centers. The center we visited held children aged four to eight years old. When we arrived, they were squirming with delight, excitedly whispering to each other and wondering who we were. We built rapport with the children through backflips and I remember their immense delight at the opportunity to perform a skit for us. They began to show us their art work and when we gave them high fives, there was a sense of deep ecstasy, and they could not stop beaming. Before we left the center, I asked the children what they wanted to be when they grew up, and each one shyly shared with us their dreams.

They had huge dreams. Popeye wanted to be a teacher, Sanji wanted to be a Bollywood star. Shanti wanted to be a flower (that’s still my favorite!). I was so moved by this that I knew something more had to be done – I wanted to adopt that community center and raise funds for it. Ideas were buzzing inside my head and brainstorming out loud, I said, “If we can adopt this center, we could even come back and do an art competition with them, exchange letters…” And Gitika, a Calcutta native stopped me right there and uttered, “Why don’t we just do it now?”

I had never thought of going ahead so quickly with a “random” idea, but we snapped into action. Community approval was crucial and we told the driver to make a U-turn to return to the Sanlaap local office. Hurriedly, we told the Sanlaap manager of our plans – he loved it. It was now time to act. We started by going to a local art supplies shop and bought all kinds of paper we could find. Paint, markers, chalk, glue, scissors, paper, glitter – you name it and we got it. We had no idea how this would turn out, and we just did it.

Sometimes turning an idea into action just means going by your gut instinct and dreaming big. The moment we received Sanlaap’s approval, which was the most critical step – the rest was the execution. And little did we know that this art competition would generate the body of our photographs and a trademark for The Amber Initiative is to be known for using art in all its forms as a means of community engagement. But this was just the very beginning.

Over the course of one year now, we have sought expertise from others both in Singapore and abroad. It is this continual learning that sustains us. We were dumbfounded when Mrs Chua, the principal of Northlight School in Singapore, told us, “Answers? We have no answers. Does a bird have answers? No. All it has is a song and the song is that we believe.” That is exactly what we did – from the moment we started the art workshop, we believed. All that was left was singing our song, and hoping that song would touch others and allow them to add to the melody. We thus began to move from seeing ourselves as separate from the world, to connecters, movers and shakers of our reality. We began learning because through learning, we re-create ourselves; through learning we are able to do something we never were able to; through learning we re-perceive the world and our relationship to it; through learning we extend our capacity to create, to be part of the generative process of life. So over the summer, Suraj and I co-founded and worked on The Amber Initiative – Turning the red light into green. As Suraj often says, “It’s like we’ve seen a crime and not reported it – how can you do that?” After seeing injustice so close, hearing stories of children “homeless” when their mothers start working, or just dancing with an eight year-old with HIV, I have seen the face of poverty up close and started to grow in my understanding of privilege.

From idea to Initiative – what began as mere curiosity turned into a shared vision and dedication of my life to this vision. Personal Mastery is one of the disciplines Peter Senge uses in his book, The Fifth Discipline, and involves two aspects. First, Personal Mastery means continually learning to see our current reality more clearly, where we are in relation to what we want. The current reality of the psychological strain and despicable conditions these children lived in created our vision. The Amber Initiative was founded because of the gap between the current reality of such injustice and my vision that children living in the brothel areas can have their basic rights fulfilled. This brings us to the other element of Personal Mastery – being acutely aware of our personal vision and constant clarification of what is important. Creative tension is a force that according to Senge, “seeks resolution” and the “essence of personal mastery is learning how to generate and sustain the creative tension in our lives.” Being aware of both elements – my personal vision and the current reality of the situation in Calcutta was the “creative tension” and the enabling force that drove us to found this organization.

At The Amber Initiative, I have an intrinsic desire to see children make their dreams a reality. For me there is no greater joy than to work towards that vision. I want to move towards that vision, to be an instrument, the steward and servant of a larger purpose. It was only after clarifying what was important to me, when I looked inside for an internal standard that I could articulate what I wanted to create and achieve.

Both Suraj and I have a deep sense of personal mastery and the energy for action was the catalyst that captured the hearts of others as we began to share our vision for The Amber Initiative. From a personal vision, the fight for justice through advocacy and awareness initiatives grew as more youth were aware of the current reality of the situation in Calcutta and cultivated their own vision. Senge’s discipline of a shared vision became a reality for us as more people caught onto and added to the vision and made it their own.

A shared vision has to start from its leaders and after the trip to Calcutta, my co-founder, Suraj, and I had to ask ourselves, what do we care about creating together? Both of us were moved by our shared experiences with the children in the brothels and now faced the challenge of inspiring others to jump on board. Our commitment to justice and action had to go beyond forming a committee for a project – we wanted to find people who were not only committed to the vision but to each other. Especially since such work requires a self-selecting process, we want our members to be co-creators of the vision and commit, if not enroll in our vision and see each other as equal stakeholders in what we are trying to create. This is the only way we can build something truly sustainable, because such advocacy work is hard and the motivation must be their own.

Creating and cultivating a shared vision is a “daily process.” As Suraj and I are in different countries for most of the year, it is a real challenge. However, sustaining The Amber Initiative and the vision is critical through increased and constant communication. Reminiscing, I think what made The Amber Initiative work was that we wanted to create more than an organization but a movement. It took hard work, and up till now, we are still asking ourselves, “What do we want to create?” And now I ask that of you.

Meixi Ng is currently pursuing a Bachelor Of  Education and Social Policy at Northwestern University, with a Minor in Communications Sciences and Disorders. Co-founder of The Amber Initiative, she is passionate about effecting change in communities all over the world, especially in special education, sports, and disabilities. She likes to swim, hang out with her friends, and eat raw vegetables in her spare time.

References:

Senge, Peter. The Fifth Discipline. New York: Doubleday, 1990.

Check out The Amber Initiative at www.theamberinitiative.com.