This past week, on Friday May 13th, I conducted a presentation to 7th grade students from my local middle school, George G. White Middle School.

I conducted this presentation for two reasons, as I wanted to give back to the middle school which helped me mold into a student that I am now, and the other reason was to educate them about this underrepresented issue of Indian Farmer Suicides.

I was in contact with a past middle school history teacher, Mrs. Maria Ives. She helped me immensely with my goal to create awareness about the humanitarian crisis of Indian farmer suicides. And I want to thank her for helping me do so!

Instead of solely focusing the issue, my presentation incorporated the solutions to this issue.

I showed the different ways that Save Indian Farmers, and many other NGOs based in India, create solutions to tackle this issue. The explained to the students that solutions can be made through education, development, or providing resources.

I also focused on my own visit to India this March, to give my perspective on the different projects that Save Indian Farmers is working on. The projects I highlighted were Project Udaan with the Z.P. schools, thedrumstick project with the drip irrigation system, the Tejaswini Kanya Chatrawaas girls hostel, visiting suicide victim families, and the Daal Mill project.

The students were very receptive and were an amazing audience. They fully understood this issue, and the plight that farmers have not just in India, but all over the world. During my presentation, I showed them avideo by Fusion, about how we are all connected to this issue. That even local farms in New Jersey shut down, because of low profits. Many farmers in India do not want their children to become farmers, and  go through the same pains they did. I explained to the students, without farmers in this world, we not be able to grow crops for so many of the basic needs we take for granted— food, clothing, etc. We will have to solely rely on foods made in a lab instead of a juicy fruit or a scrumptious vegetable grown in a luscious field naturally, ripened with warmth of the sun, the coolness of the rain and the nourishing earth.

I made a strong impact and an everlasting impression on these young mind. I managed to capture the attention of the most rowdiest kid in the class. They bombarded me with so many intelligent questions. This presentation aroused the curiosity of the teachers as well.

After viewing the widow, one student asked, “Where can we buy certified organic and fair trade clothing?” A teacher asked, “What made you choose to explore this issue?” And many many more.

Overall, the presentation was a big success. Many students felt so moved by this presentation, that they gave donations to Save Indian Farmers.

The flame of Compassion was finally ignited and they too will spread this underrepresented issue. They carried back with them the message of “what is Being Human” and how they can impact the life of the impoverished in very small but significant ways.