THE NEED OF STRONG FOUNDATION

When we were studying in an upper-primary school in 1967 and while we were returning home from our school, Marathencode by walking, often we had seen some kind of rockets going up leaving some kind of white tails on the South-East sky in later hours.  This was the sight often we were witnessing throughout the years during the evening hours. Our crude knowledge told us that the rockets were sent from Thumba of Thiruvananthapuram to assess the atmosphere of the sky.  This basic knowledge we gathered from the newspapers. Beyond that we had no idea regarding the scientific side of the occurrence.

Later we came to know that they were the sounding rockets. Sounding rockets were one or two stage solid propellant rockets used for probing the upper atmospheric regions and for space research. Scientists like Dr. Vikram Sarabhai and Dr. Abdul Kalam were the scientists behind it. Years later, through the hard work of the numerous scientists and over the years, India achieved the historic event of soft landing of Chandrayaan – 3 on the southern surface of the moon. This venture proves the necessity of strong foundation for any success in any field.

For us, the students, the areas could be character formation, high grades in studies, educational goals, professional preparations, publications etc. All these are part of human existence in one sense, and these are not achieved in one day or even in a time frame of a few years. It needs a persistent effort and the success is the culmination of the first step that we put forward to achieve the final goal. What these few lines try to tell the readers that sincere effort is needed to put up a strong foundation upon which only the success culminates and the success is yours.     

May God bless you all!

BE RESPONSIBLE & BE A GEM

Our national flag soars on the sky never before because we achieved landing on moon where no one dare to put their feet.  What made the team achieve it?  The focus on their responsibility.  So what responsibility can do? The following incident could help to narrate it.

 Dina was touched by the attitude and the words of the store owner.  While coming back to the parking slot she noticed a woman who was sleeping at her wheel in her parked car at the corner of the street, and at first she assumed that the woman must be sleeping; she is probably okay.  But then she remembered the store owner’s words just minutes before: ‘the power of taking responsibility’.  So she called the emergency number and said, “A woman sleeping at the wheel of her car on West 37 Street, and it doesn’t look right. Someone should go and check it out.” The dispatcher thanked her for calling and said an ambulance was coming.

 A week later, Dina received a phone call from the mother of the woman who had been sleeping in her car.  She said, “You don’t know me. But I am calling you to thank you.  On behalf of our entire family for calling the emergency number last week. It’s a miracle that you called that night.  My daughter was in hyperglacema and diabetic shock, and if she hadn’t been attended to immediately, she could have died.  You actually saved two lives that night.  Not just one.”  “And how is that?” Dina asked.  The woman said, “My daughter is expecting a baby, and had anything happened to her, the same would have happened to the baby.” Dina hung up the phone and cried tears of joy.  And she was informed that, three weeks later, a healthy baby was born to this mother.

So what brought about this miraculous event?

One word: ‘Responsibility.’

 When we are able to take responsibility for what is being asked of us in every situation, we begin to truly make an impact on the world around us.  I wish all of our Carmelites to take up their responsibility as a good citizen, good child, and good student and be a gem in the world at large.