Big Bang or the Gang

I like to make up stories, but this one truly is true. It is about charity and altruism, and it’s also a little  bit about business, in my rabbit-sort of way. A little different.

 A baby boy, born in Russia, needed a life-saving surgery, which the Russian doctors weren’t able to carry out.  His parents were, as most parents would be, desperate. But there was a chance for him, the chance came with an 80 thousand euro price label. It was a specialised surgical procedure offered by a German hospital.

How do you collect eighty thousand euros within two months? There are two basic options: you don’t do anything, hoping for a miracle,  or you actually start doing something because miracles is nothing you can count on. And that’s what the parents of the little boy did: they involved their friends and acquaintances, they used social media and TV to get attention for their cause. One of their facebook-allies was a friend of mine.

She created a support group, and kept informing the members of the progress of the donations. She made sure all the proofs of the boy’s existence were published on the net. She involved virtually everyone she knew. When I last spoke to her, she shared some reactions people had initially:

-          You know what, I’m not taking part in such actions. I’m just not doing it. How on earth do you want to collect 80K in 2 months? Sorry, for me it just doesn’t make sense.
-          What if they don’t raise all the money before the deadline? I don’t want my money to be wasted.
-          I don’t need to donate, because you did already, didn’t you?
-          Come on, do you really believe in that story? 80K euro needed on a bank account in Russia??? How can you be so naïve?
-          This is only one boy saved. But there are many more, so when will you stop?
-          I might donate some money, because I trust you. But how do you want strangers to wire money over to Russia of all places on earth?

Obviously, that wasn’t too encouraging. Utopia, you’d say.

What’s surprising though, is that money kept streaming in. One anonymous person even made a transfer of ten thousand euros. Two days before the deadline, there were only twenty-five thousand euro missing. That’s a lot, I know. But that also means that there were enough kind-hearted and naïve people to raise 65K euros to save the life of an unknown kid.

And that fills me with hope for the mankind. And makes me prefer naive people to realists. Sorry.

I’m reading a management book right now (I know someone who’d be very happy to hear that). It contains a quote by W.N. Murray from the Scottish Himalayan Expedition:

“Concerning all acts of initiative (and creation), there is one elementary truth, the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred.  A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one’s favour all manner of unforeseen events, meetings and material assistance, which no man could have dreamt would have come this way.”

(quote after Sahar Hashemi “Switched On”)

Just one day before the deadline the boy's parents were contacted by a charity organisation, who offered to cover the remaining amount needed for the surgery. Providence!

All acts of inititiative (and creation). I like that. That brings me to the most spectacular creation I’ve ever heard of:

In the beginning there was nothing, and out of this nothing, probably through some Big Bang or a revolt of a Big Gang, Something got created. If there existed some creatures able to understand speech before the Bang (or the Gang), and you told them the following (if you existed, of course, but we all know you didn’t, which nevertheless shouldn’t stop you from imagining such conversation now, as now you do exist):

-          You know what I see happening in the future? There’ll be this Something appearing out of Nothing, and this will kick-off a grand series of events which will at some point lead to intelligent beings collecting an enormous amount of money to save a little intelligent being’s life. Can you believe it?

Their answer would probably be:
-          Come on, what kind of management guru told you that? This is complete utopia. It can’t possibly happen.

Well, it did. So please don’t tell me I shouldn’t believe in Utopias. Had it not been for an Utopia, we wouldn’t be having this conversation now, in your office, at your desk.