Making Change: Tips from an Underage Overachiever

By Bilaal Rajan

Fundraising wunderkind Bilaal Rajan shares his tips for effective fundraising, using examples from his own amazing life to show how it can be done—and how you can have fun doing it. The second part of the book is a section entitled Eight Principles to Maximize Your Full Potential, which includes exercises to help you identify and attain your dreams.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Orca Book Publishers
• Release date: Oct 1, 2008
• ISBN: 9781554696659

Bilaal Rajan

Bilaal Rajan started fundraising at the age of four, when he sold clementines to raise money for the victims of an earthquake in India. Since then he has raised funds for children in Southeast Asia, Haiti and Africa. In March 2005, Bilaal became the UNICEF Canada Child Representative. He continues his fundraising efforts while attending school and traveling the world spreading his message of hope. Bilaal lives in Toronto, Ontario, with his parents.

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Introduction

Enthusiasm is excitement with inspiration, motivation, and a pinch of creativity.

—BO BENNETT, PHILANTHROPIST, MOTIVATIONAL SPEAKER AND AUTHOR

You probably think you cannot build a home or a school from clementine oranges, but let me tell you how it can be done. Near the end of January 2001, there was a terrible earthquake in Gujarat, an Indian state. In that part of the world most people live in big towns and cities, which were shaken violently. Cracks appeared in the earth, people’s houses were destroyed, and schools and hospitals crumbled. Many thousands of people were killed as buildings collapsed on top of them.

I was only four years old when this happened, but the news of the destruction had a big impact on me. My parents told me about the earthquake as they were reading the newspaper. A jamatkhana (an Ismaili Muslim center of prayer or worship that is kept peaceful and holy) had collapsed under the force of the earthquake and the mukhisaheb, or priest, had died. He had young children of his own, who were just a little older than I was. My parents were leaders in our jamatkhana in Richmond Hill, Ontario, at the time. I thought about what would become of me if a disaster like that happened here. I could be left without parents.

When I thought about what had happened in Gujarat, I imagined the devastation. I was eating a clementine orange while I was thinking about the earthquake, and I was trying to think how I could help. Then, as I bit into the juicy fruit, it came to me. Sell clementines! Now all I had to do was get to work.

I felt very confident when I first went out with my box of clementines. I was going to sell from door to door in a community not too far from of my house. I always had an adult with me—one of my parents or a grandparent. Some people said no to me, but I did not stop. After all, many people said yes. My parents taught me that you should always keep trying. Giving up is never the solution. When I was finished selling clementines, I had raised $350, which is a lot of money to a four-year-old.

I’m not exactly sure what motivated me to do what I did. Yes, I imagined what it would be like if this tragedy had happened to my family, but it was still very far removed from me. What was more important is that I was INSPIRED to help the children who had been left alone, without parents. I was inspired by their suffering, and I sought a solution that I thought might help ease that suffering.

What is the difference between motivation and inspiration? Easy. Motivation is something that comes from inside you, and inspiration comes from the outside. Of course, there is nothing wrong with motivation. It drives us to accomplish great things. However, without inspiration our actions can often be empty. The person who has inspired me the most is our spiritual leader, His Highness the Aga Khan. He is a philanthropist who has devoted himself to bettering the lives of others around the world. For more information about the Aga Khan, please visit www.akdn.org.

During the years that followed, I did a lot more fundraising and public speaking, and I could see that there were many kids who cared and who wanted to fundraise with me and make a difference in the world. I also knew that, although I was constantly being labeled as special, there was nothing I had that lots of other kids didn’t have. Each and every one of them had the potential to do anything they chose to do.

You all have this type of potential inside of you, just waiting to get out. What you need are the tools to bring out that potential and make it shine. No matter whether you want to excel in school, fundraise, work to earn extra money or help your family through hard times, you can do it if you know how to tap into the potential that is inside you.

So why did I write this book? Because I want to inspire others the way His Highness the Aga Khan and many others have inspired me. I know that there are many kids who want to know how to raise funds. I want kids to find their passion, take action and know that they can do amazing things and make a difference in the lives of others. It’s not difficult. If you believe in your cause, and you know that what you are doing is right, you will be able to raise funds, and you should do it. Never lose confidence. Everyone has to find their passion. It may be fundraising to help kids on the other side of the world, it may be helping animals, helping the elderly in nursing homes, helping the physically challenged—there are hundreds of worthy causes. I have concentrated on helping kids. I feel kids need to help other kids. Children are the creators and leaders of our future. I believe that there should be equality and fairness for all children. Why shouldn’t children in other parts of the world have exactly what we have here in North America? Things like clean water, education, clothing, food, toys, all the things we take for granted. I chose to work with unicef, which stands for United Nations Children’s Fund, because they work specifically with children to provide basic education, clean water and food.

This book is divided into two parts: the first section concentrates on fundraising; the second part is meant to help you reach your full potential.

The following pages are full of my experiences, which I hope not only inspire you, but also give you direction and help you decide what concrete actions to take. You can take these methods and apply them to any fundraising or humanitarian efforts in which you are involved. Just remember—YOU CAN DO IT!

Fundraising with Ilahi Rayani (PHOTO GALIB RAYANI)

PART I

Fundraising Tips for Activist kids

Selling clementines at age four with mother, Shamim Rajan

CHAPTER 1

You CAN Do Amazing Things

Whatever you can do, or dream you can, begin it.

Boldness has genius, power, and magic in it.

—JOHANN WOLFGANG VON GOETHE, GERMAN AUTHOR AND PHILOSOPHER

Getting Started

FIND YOU PASSION

You really can do amazing things. So many people are afraid to think big. Many are afraid to think about doing anything at all. They feel that since they can’t do everything, they will do nothing. And then there are those who don’t even know where to begin. You can be different. Think about what you believe in. What are your values? How do you want to make a difference in the world? Of course, after you have answered these questions, getting started is the biggest step you will ever take.

When I began fundraising at the age of four, I did not think in terms of how I wanted to make a difference in the world. I simply knew that there were children suffering because of a horrible natural disaster, and I knew that I wanted to help them. I also did not think it was amazing or unusual that I was fundraising. It was simply an effort to make the lives of other children better. I just did what I knew I had to do.

I think this is the key. Go out there with a specific need in mind. No one person ALONE can change the whole world. Just let a cause or a certain situation or group of people inspire you, and give it all you’ve got. That’s what I did, and I made a difference. Think of it this way. How do you start a fire? All it takes is one spark, right? Just one little spark and you can start a huge fire. As Mahatma Gandhi once said, "Be the change you want to see in the