I have been watching the Oprah Winfrey Show on/off for the past couple of years. Yesterday, she just topped herself. It was the start of the 19th season for her show, and she gave each and every member of her audience a brand new 2005 Pontaic G6 car! Note, that the 274 odd-some people in the audience were chosen because they had written a letter or sent a videotape to Oprah showing that they needed a new car. Some of the tapes that they showed were pitiful — these people were driving some dangerous cars!
As I think more and more about it, I begin to look up to Oprah. Some might snicker on that thought — but its true. She really is an unique human being. $7 million worth of cars were delivered to the studios so that these 274 odd-some people (whom she doesn’t know) could have a new car to drive. Yes, you have to be financially stable to do something like that — but you also have to have a heart. A drive to do something for someone else in need. Cars were donated by Pontiac, but Oprah must have spent some $$ on this extravaganza.
That wasn’t the only surprise on her show yesterday as she also helped a girl whose parents had abandoned her and had been living on the streets for a while. This girl picked herself up and moved in with some relatives, finished high school, and started taking classes at a junior college. Her student loans increasing, she didn’t have enough money and had to drop out. She wrote a letter to Oprah saying that if she could ask for one thing its to have a beauty makeover. Not only did she get the makeover by the top-notch people in Hollywood (courtesy of Tyra Banks) but also to meet Oprah Winfrey (the girl thought of Oprah as her mother) and got a full tuition, room/board paid, books paid scholarship to the college of her choice! Wow! She just boosted the esteem of one girl — who might have taken the turn for the worse. Now she has a chance to finish college at any one of the finest institutions in all of the USA.
One other family she helped — the Taylors in NY. The husband-wife have been taking in foster children and adopting those children that nobody had wanted for quite some time. They now had 10 children living in their small little home. The husband-wife devoted their full time to these children — none of their own when their life began to swirl down the wrong path. Their landlord has decided to sell their house, and the Taylors needed to vacate out of the house by October 1st of this year. Without enough money to buy the house, the Taylors were in dire need for some help. One of the neighbors wrote to Oprah seeking her help and guidance in this situation. Oprah was discussing it with one of her friends, when they came up with an idea. They surprised the Taylors yesterday by giving them a check of $100,000 so that they could buy the house and stay in the neighborhood, plus $30,000 check to renovate the house. Not only that, but they got all of the high-tech appliances and furniture from the best name branded stores in all of America. Amazing and so nice.
Genuine is Oprah’s middle name because that’s what she is all about. The troubles she has gone through in her own life plays a key part to all that she does for not only the American people, but for many across the world (she goes to other countries and helps the poor). Even one day, I would like to do something first for India – to help those poor people get an education and make themselves useful for society. Watching Oprah inspires me to believe that if you put your mind to it — you can do anything.
This is just one show — if you look at her career, you can see that she can say:
“Yes I have made a positive impact in someone’s life”
That’s what is so inspiring to me and what makes Oprah my role model. I won’t be able to achieve as high as she has (only because she has dedicated her life to this) but with her inspiration in my mind, I will always be able to do what I put my mind to. 
Alvida. Jai Mata Di.
mere ko bhi car chahiye.
mere ko bhi free college education chahiye.
mere ko bhi sunday ghar chahiye.
tu opera ko mere liye chithi likh!!
Rashu meri pyaari si dost
car leh ke bhi kya karegi…license nahi hai…
free education toh waise hi mil raha hai..babuji paise deh rahe hain
sunday ghar ke kya saath karegi…sunday ko toh tu soo rahi hoti hai
phir bhi kyon ke tu meri pyaari dost hai..main oprah madam ko chitti likhti hoon aur kehti hoon ke rashu ko woh deo jo usne maanga nahi hai: unlimited supply of indian khaana
ehh ek baar car aa jaye toh licence bhi aa jayenga!!
And bapu ke paise is ultimately my inheritance na.. toh mere hi paise jaa rahe!!
And sunday ghar nahi.. sundaR ghar.. typos :-s.. mere ko sundar ghar chahiye!!
Aur saath mein agar unlimited supply of indian khaana ho toh wahh… life hi ban jayegi!!
tu bol Oprah se.. mere ko aisi feeling hai ki woh teri baat jaroor sunegi!!:rotfl::razz::wink::lol:
Poonam, mere liye bhi oprah aunty ko letter likh de.. mujhe sirf 5-7 million $ chahiye.. bus.. baaki i will manage
Oprah is Gr8!!!
Poonam:!: I have got the licence… do recommend my name too
Tum dono ki jodi wakai main kitni aachi banegi — dekho soch kitni milti hai!
Khush raho dono!
[Ankur] – She is great and I am slowly realizing that. At first I thought she was just like everybody else on TV; out there to make $$ and in between if she helps someone, then that’s great. But she is definitely unique.
interesting post…inspires me to watch the oprah winfrey show frm now on…
Priya –
wowww that’s amazing what Oprah did
but yeah I love this kind of show, the reality show where you can help a lot of people and change people’s lives, you really dunno what you have done is really helping and changing people lives. But I am not a big fan of Oprah, there is another show called “Ananda Lewis”, do you watch this show ? I love it !!! I really want that one day when I visit NY, I want to see this show live 
heyy how about your project ? sorry I was a bit lost …. can’t do browsing these few days from client place :P how are you gal ? have a nice day yahhhh
Hey Mona!! You back from Dubai?? I think I am just going to email you today! You reply back, ok?
You don’t like Oprah? Why not? I have not heard of Ananda Lewis..:sad: I wonder if she is nationally syndicated or just shown in NY. Hmm..will have to find out.
I will let you know about the project in the email — we have an unstaffed conference call in about 10 mins so hopefully I will find out what new projects are in the pipeline.
Have a safe journey back home — if you are still in Dubai
Hey poonam,
i hv seen a few episodes of oprah and some were ok n some were touching.
i hv read, heard n seen (on her show) ab how she goes abt helping ppl. she is making complete use of her power to get things done for other. u know most times companies just gv stuff free coz they know how many ppl all across watch the show so its kinda give n take for them… they gv something free n in turn they kinda get the credits…
some shows are real eye openers… many ppl write to her after the show is aired that they been thru a same phase in life…
she gives to needy women, children and families via Oprah?s Angel Network and her personal charity, The Oprah Winfrey Foundation.
according to me if u hv the power n money u shud help others in whatever way u can.
in india we do hv some biggies (narayan murthy, azim premji…) who hv their own foundations thru which they help others… some like to show what they are doin n some do it quielty…
hey u know it doesnt take much to help others… let me gv u an eg… there is a old age home near our place… my mom’s been going there since years now to gv stuff… u know they dont ask for money… u will b surp what they asked for… tea, sugar, snacks n stuff like that… things like tea which take for granted is a luxury for them ! it doesnt take much to make an impact… u shud c the faces of these ppl when u go n gv them sthg they are thrilled… o one more thing they love is company not many ppl go to visit them so if u talk to them for 5 min their day is made !
ok i am talking a lil too much today :P
You are absolutely right Kunal. If you have the money you should really make the effor to help others with that. You know that Oprah has not gotten married because she says that if she gets so tied up with her own life, she won’t be able to achieve what is able to achieve now? That is a major self-sacrifice of giving up your own life’s happiness just so she can give a helping hand to others around her. The gesture of the car was wonderful as she gave the car to those that needed it, not those who wanted it.
This year she has started a new program called, Making Your Wildest Dreams Come True, and the car episode was the first one to start it off.
I didn’t know that Narayan Murthy had a foundation. That is really great. I think that he is able to give a lot back to the Indian society because of the stature he is in the country. That’s really great to see that people high up in India are also trying to help those in need.
Even Neeraj and I one day would like to do that. We want to help the poor people who are on the streets of India to be a working member of society by providing them the education, shelter, and help that they need to be able to find a job for themselves. Its a major thought that will be a major task, but it just starts there.
The example you gave about the old age home and your mother donating tea and all is absolutely fantastic. Really its those things that count more than money. Even for the people that are on the street, if you provide them with shelter and education, they are going to be more useful then to hand them money.
Great thoughts Kunal!