Kindness: The Most Cherished Currency

Letter from New Delhi —

New Global NGO plans India launch

“Today’s modern world can survive only when science connects with spirituality,” said the Dalai Lama in a special message to a social welfare organisation, Unite4Good. “The essence of life is loving, kindness, caring and this 21st century is much in need.”

Promoting kindness and social welfare work is what this international body strives to do in many countries and is planning to come to India. As a curtain raiser, the founder of Unite4Good, Anthony Melikhov, hosted a dinner for over a hundred leading social workers and activists in New Delhi in June. In India, unite4good is expected to be launched by major Hollywood and Bollywood actors to capture the public imagination, said Melikhov.

Sharing how this organization came into being, he recalled he moved to the United States from Belarus in 1989 when he was 26 years old. Five years later, he set up a pharmaceutical company and it did so well by 2008 that he decided to sell his multi-million dollars company. Melikhov based his decision on a personal calling and overwhelming feeling to evaluate his path in life, striving for the pursuit of inner happiness and peace. This compelling feeling led him to want to do more for the world around him by establishing Bright Future International. Within its first year, Bright Future formed partnerships with organizations in Russia, Kenya, Rwanda, Burundi, and Panama and helped them to expand the scope of their work.

In 2012, Bright Future began to seek like-minded individuals and organizations, and actively pursue fundraising to reach a wider audience in more cities around the world. In 2013, he assembled a team of international leaders and celebrities to champion his vision for change to establish Unite4Good to inspire charitable work and acts of kindness on an international scale. Now it has active support of world leaders, movie stars and celebrities in USA and other parts of the world.

In an audio-visual presentation, Melikhov showed the numerous projects and the cavalcade of glamorous celebrities endorsing the work of Unite4Good. In February 2015, this organization held a pre-Oscar event to honour stars with Creative Consciousness Awards presented to movie star Halle Berry, actor and producer Lauren Paul, three-time Emmy-winner Aaron Paul, and three-time Grammy-winner Pink. Among the special guests were Emily Blunt, Queen Latifah, Jesse Tyler Ferguson, Ewan McGregor and Jeff Bridges. Former US President Bill Clinton and UN Secretary General Ban ki-Moon are some global leaders who have endorsed this organization.

A country director, Ike Sinha, has been laying the groundwork for this launch by contacting major Bollywood stars. “We look forward for Unite4Good campaign launch by the end of 2015 or early 2016 to work with children and the youth of our country in making efforts to bring a change in their mindset by giving maximum importance to education for a better world and also inculcate Acts of Kindness as a habit by making it to be a part of their daily life,“ said Ike Sinha.

“We measure success using individual acts of kindness for social good,” says Melikhov, “All verifiable actions that affect a user’s Kindness Count are accorded points with suitable awards from a global social platform to inspire and motivate millions round the globe.” He adds, “Kindness will become the most important measurement of success and the most cherished currency.”

Kul Bhushan worked as a newspaper Editor in Nairobi for over three decades and now lives in New Delhi

• Published in print edition on 14 August 2015