An Effort to Help
SESTAA is an ‘effort’, an effort to help the disabled and the disadvantaged wherever we can, within our limit and capacity. What we are trying to do differs from simple charitable acts that constitutes the act of ‘giving’. Giving takes place in an emergency to overcome a bad situation and in an ad-hoc manner. Nothing is expected in return from the groups or people who benefit from such ad-hoc acts of kindness, they are short-term and give psychological satisfaction to the person/s who did the acts of kindness.
Giving is charity, but there is a difference between ‘giving’ and ‘helping’ in the sphere of charity. Help differs from simple acts of giving in a fundamental way. We are not helping people to become or stay dependent; we want to help them to become independent, able and empowered. An individual or a family sometimes fall into situations which is not of their own making, and they need help from others to overcome or manage that situation. If a child is born with disability or a person acquires any form disability through accident or illness, they need help from others in society to overcome the barriers they face from that disability – be they physical, psychological or social barriers.
Charity as an age-old concept is closely linked to one’s religious beliefs and giving money and food to the poor is considered a noble act. However, such charity only makes the people involved in the act of charity feel momentarily better, its impact is short-term and the underlying needs are not met. In SESTAA’s effort to help, helping is not linked to any religious beliefs; we are not helping to fulfill our duty as decreed by our faith or to attain any form of spiritual upliftment. We are helping because we believe in the agency of the helper and the helped, and we want people to have the tools to overcome their disability and disadvantages. This is a longer and a slow process that seeks to address the underlying needs of a group of people with disabilities or disadvantages, whoever they might be.