Ameet's blog

I was reading collection of his "Talks with students" given at varanasi school in 1954, where he is talking passionately with school children about what is education. I have read just a chapter, and its message is driving me nuts. Purpose of education is to get rid of fear . To discover your interests, abilities, nature of the world and how to interact fruitfully with it. But primarily to learn to stop acting based on fear and start acting on knowledge. Like avoiding a ditch by walking round it, instead of being afraid of it. Even courage is not opposite of fear. And here I am, with so many subtle insecurities that some of them have become part of the nature. Education should help us understand them and get rid of them. Fear of competition, fear of opinion of others, fear of losing job, fear of beasts in our nature, fear of loneliness, fear of morals.. so many fears.. But being aware of them is first step in freeing oneself from them. I found two of the talks online here ...

Ex President of USA, Jimmy carter was at UCSD, spreading the word about Carter foundation, which has been doing amazing work in developing countries. Just to cite a few, coordinating the eradication of Guinea worm from Africa, building one of largest public latrine systems in African villages to eradicate river blindness and trauchoma, and fostering democratic process around the world by acting negotiator between rival groups, laying out of constitutions, ensuring fair elections in many countries, most recent one being Palestine. Carter foundation bites what it can chew, and aims for efficiency and efficacy. Now that malaria bednet with 7 year impregnation roundtime has arrived, it has ambitious plans of rolling it out. It does not put names on the works it does. One of most heartfelt remarks he made was, "Through this process, one thing I intensely realized was that, we tend to gravely underestimate the quality of people in say Ghana, Nigre. They have same integrity, family value...