Measuring the Scientific Value in Sharing
A generous person will prosper; whoever refreshes others will be refreshed.
Proverbs 11;25
There is a bounty to be reaped when well meaning people get together to make a difference for themselves and others. Friendship takes on a powerful meaning when the being together brings change in the lives of many others. A case in point is the faces of students in the photograph who graduated from one of the programs at the Peter Wulff Center thanks to the fundraising efforts made by friends of the PWC in Barrington Illinois.
Two months ago group of acquaintances met to learn about the Peter Wulff Center run by Project Why operating in the slums of Delhi, India. The purpose of the gathering was to learn from about cooking middle eastern dishes and enjoy a meal together. The proceeds of the meal were used towards developing a computer center at the Peter Wulff Center. In 2010 a group of children and adults from the Barrington chess community started a computer center named after a dedicated teacher, Maggie Gruber Black. Unfortunately 15 years later only 2 of the original computers were still working at Project Why. About 300 underprivileged students from the Govindpuri slums in Delhi, India use the computer center so it was crucial to restart the educational programs that existed before. This is the only access to computers for these children as they have no money.
Here is a video of students using the computer center in 2010 when it was operating with 8 computers: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vmyDix4rvT0&t=6s&ab_channel=KiranFrey
Armed with a purpose a diverse group in Barrington, Illinois gathered together to raise funds for adding computers to this center. But the invisible rewards of socializing, exchanging ideas, collaborating, using imagination and actively pursuing positive change go beyond the boundaries of the explicit purpose of fundraising. As Steve Chase (owner of the Seattle Seahawks) said, “If we get along fine, we will do a lot of work together”.
We were able to “do a lot of work together”, especially when a talented and enthusiastic cook, Zein Bertacchi introduced the group to a lesson in middle eastern cooking. Zein, who was born in Nablus, Palestine, has introduced the Barrington community to her Falafels and Hummus (a Palestinian staple) for many years now. Remarkably, Zein has introduced her cuisine at chess tournaments raising over $250,000 for local and global charities through the chess program. The Barrington Illinois chess program was started in 1998 and it became wildly successful resulting in the founder Rishi Sethi inviting GM and 2008 US Chess Champion Yury Shulman to join the program. As the program grew rapidly Zein was instrumental in feeding the chess players and their families during chess events. All the proceeds of money raised at chess events was donated to charity. Zein was lovingly called, the “Falafel lady” by chess children who attended the tournaments.
During the cooking and dinner event 2 months ago Zein continued her humanitarian work through teaching the group easy recipes for cooking middle eastern chicken. Here is a trailer of the event with more to follow: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ithSEH_N3Tk&ab_channel=KiranFrey
Scientifically there are measurable physical, emotional and economic benefits of social experiences but in this article we focus briefly on the long term benefits. In recent years, there has been an explosion of knowledge about how not only do children grow and develop into whole individuals through learning but also how vital learning is for preventing dementia in middle and elderly individuals. According to an article in the National Library of Medicine learning induces social and cognitive activity that is key to prevention of dementia. Dementia is one of the most common diseases in the elderly, with crude prevalence rates between 5.9%–9.4% for subjects aged 65 or over. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2915647/
According to the authors of this paper, “This paper focuses on specific aspects of dementia prevention. Prevention appears to be particularly prominent among antidementia strategies not only—negatively seen—due to the lack of cure for dementia, but mainly—constructively approached—because it can be carried out within a multidimensional scheme with the highest chances of success if adopted in the early adulthood. Primary prevention is directed against dementia prior to its biological onset or against dementia risk. The concept of cognitive reserve suggests that innate intelligence or aspects of life experience like educational or occupational attainments may supply reserve in the form of a set of skills or repertoires that allows some people to cope with progressing Alzheimer’s Disease pathology better than others. There is epidemiological evidence that lifestyle characterized by engagement in leisure activities of intellectual and social nature is associated with slower cognitive decline in healthy elderly and may reduce the risk of incident dementia. There is also evidence from functional imaging studies that subjects engaging in such leisure activities can clinically tolerate more AD pathology. It is possible that aspects of life experience like engagement in leisure activities may result in functionally more efficient cognitive networks and therefore provide a cognitive reserve that delays the onset of clinical manifestations of dementia. Among other factors that can delay the onset of dementia are a healthy diet. Healthy diet in general and the Mediterranean regimen in particular have been recently shown to affect risk for and mortality from dementia. However, a review of 34 studies in the areas of diet provided evidence that nutritional interventions against dementia have a great potential of influencing dementia development
Other rich experiences in sharing with friends is the creativity, fun and imagination activated through the challenge of raising funds and enjoying the thought of enabling others to thrive.
A unique aspect of this event was the gift of sponsorship for this fundraiser by 11 year old Jack Weed. This is heartwarming as it demonstrates awareness and knowledge of social entrepreneurship, empathy and leadership passed on from adult mentors to children in the community. Being a role model is a tremendous honor as it rests on the premise that one’s actions have influenced and inspired others.
Peter Wulff, who inspired the creation of the center, whom the center is named after, may have died but through this center his legacy lives on in his community and across the world in the slums of India where youth are receiving opportunities to learn and earn a wage.
Please email at kiran.frey59@gmail.com if you or someone you know would like to join our group in contributing in any way towards this center. There are plans in the future for hosting “ Geography nights”where guests can learn about places and people in our world. Youth social entrepreneurs are welcome too.
For anyone who would like to support the Peter Wulff Center through buying Zeins Magical Spices or Hummus or Nans please email at kiran.frey59@gmail.com