Both of us came together to work on this project because we (5A64 and Jessie) believed in cultivating the talents of orphans, though the source of this belief and what factors molded these beliefs are different. Let us explain.
5A64’s Belief
One of my core theses is that everyone has a unique talent and that this needs to be nurtured at an early age. When they’re still in the kid-like state exploring and following their curiosities, they are less likely to be molded by perceptions of the standard path to pursue. I believe that this is one of my unique talents – to be able to recognize unconventional talent despite been at an age where the priority for most is to focus on their own career. People flourish when they’re in their element and exercising their talent. This is what I’m fighting for.
These aren’t simply words. I’ve generated funding so that I can financially back these individuals and overcome my distaste for publicity to seek out and amplify talent. I’ve already searched and provided micro-grants to talent in Australia and America ranging from engineering, film, science, and urban planning. But I realized this neglects young talent that has yet to emerge because of their uncontrollable and unfavorable circumstance(s). A conversation with Jessie made me realize this. This is why I wanted to contribute to this project, coupled with the fact that I was also making a bet on Jessie’s untapped potential in philanthropy (unbeknownst to her at the time). All children deserve to discover and let their talents flourish irrespective of their circumstance – an important oversight by me that I have now corrected – because talent can come from anywhere.
Jessie’s Belief
My personal core belief is that every human being has an innately driven talent that they are born with. It is up to the parents or guardians of every child to provide exposure to opportunities and experiences to discover and cultivate these talents (as to whether they should have passion for their talent is another issue, but generally these things align). Pushing children into particular career tracks or measuring the ‘value’ of a child by the outcomes of a standardized test, can be detrimental to the child’s understanding of their self-worth. I’ve seen this happen time and time again in the communities I have been a part of, and I had questioned it throughout my life. Specifically, I had been asking myself why some kids become adults with a lack of satisfaction and/or passion. Once I came across a brilliant program called Pillars (they link children of prisoners to good role models to break the cycle of crime in families), and by drawing upon my own experiences, I realized that it was all down to influence and exposure to opportunity. I’ve been fortunate enough to have been exposed to many great opportunities in life, all thanks to my family/schooling, and my passion for seeking novel experiences. But unfortunately, not every child has this type of environment or mindset.
The influences and opportunities in my earlier years had driven me to dream about providing a great environment for orphans (referring to Isaiah 1:17 - “Learn to do right; seek justice. Defend the oppressed. Take up the cause of the fatherless; plead the case of the widow.”, Psalms 82:3 “Defend the weak and the fatherless; uphold the cause of the poor and the oppressed.”, James 1:27 - “Religion that God our Father accepts as pure and faultless is this: to look after orphans and widows in their distress and to keep oneself from being polluted by the world.”). This stems from my Christian background – as a child, I had been constantly exposed to information about philanthropic activities, such as the relentless work of Dr. Albert Schweitzer, Mercy Hospital Ships, Jusarang Community Foundation/Pastor Lee’s Babybox in Korea, and experiences of my close family members. To follow in their footsteps in philanthropy, I found it my life goal to enable orphans to find their gifts and encourage them to be the best versions of themselves i.e. flourish and be a positive influence on others in turn. This project was the first small step towards this goal. Again, as scientists, we believe that it is crucial to conduct active background research/pilot trial experiments before delving into something so important, and 5A64 agreed, so this is how the project began for me.
Recognizing the background and our thought processes behind this venture, we decided on the name of our small organization - “Threshing Floor”. We will describe this in more detail in our next post (“The meaning behind ‘Threshing Floor’”).