Aug. 27--Unlike some suburban teens, whose selfie-style videos capture the insouciant episodes of adolescent life, 16-year-old Nikil Badey of Hoffman Estates had a higher calling in mind: winning $1,000 to help a family friend whose wife had died in a tragic fire.
"A lot of people think that teens today don't do much but make trouble, so I was absolutely stunned to hear about a way I could give back personally to someone in the community," said Nikil, a junior at William Fremd High School who was a featured guest on the Aug. 12 episode of "The View." There, he surprised Hoffman Estates resident Ghulam Mustafa, 51, with a $1,000 check from the VING Project.
Launched by an anonymous Chicago family that provides the funding for the nonprofit, the VING Project aims to inspire the "next generation of givers," in particular teens ages 14 to 18, who compete for the chance to give a $1,000 check to a person in need by producing a 60-second video explaining why the recipient is worthy of the award, said Jill McClain, executive director of the VING Project, who also appeared on "The View" this month alongside Nikil.
"We believe in teens celebrating and passing along the thrill of giving," said McClain, who says teens submitting videos are asked to answer a simple prompt: If you had $1,000 to give to a person in need, who would you VING it to?
McClain said the term "VING" is short for the rewarding experiences the organization hopes to share with teens who participate, including giving, receiving and loving.
Nikil, a captain of Fremd's National Honor Society, said he was saddened by the many hardships facing Mustafa and his four children after the family's matriarch, Navida Mustafa, died after an October fire in the family's garage. Ghulam Mustafa was badly burned while attempting to rescue his wife.
In many ways, Nikil says, the friendship forged between the two families, who are neighbors, is rooted in their shared experiences as immigrants. The Badeys are Hindus from India, and the Mustafas are Muslims from Pakistan.
While conflicts between India and Pakistan have simmered for years, Nikil said the two families did not allow politics to interfere with their camaraderie. That included the two women enrolling in an ESL class together and swapping recipes.
"Mrs. Mustafa would bring us over her homemade biryani, a rice dish, which was absolutely fabulous," Nikil said, "and my mother would bring their family a vegetarian Indian meal."
Mustafa said his visit to New York with Nikil and his college-aged daughter, Iqra, was taken on the false premise that Nikil needed a chaperone for a school-related trip and Nikil's parents were unable to get the time off at work.
"I was totally surprised ... Nikil told me he was going on "The View" for a high school essay he wrote, but then I learned it was related to my incident," Mustafa said. "The $1,000 is very helpful, because I had a $700,000 medical bill."
Mustafa, who was hospitalized for two months after the accident, said that because of his critical condition, he was not told his wife had died until four weeks after her death.
"When we arrived from Pakistan in 2003, we had to struggle to establish ourselves, but we were finally making it, and were able to buy a house," said Mustafa, who is self-employed as a limousine driver. "Now we're starting from zero again, but I guess that's just part of our destiny."
"I think both of our families strive to provide something better for their children, to learn the language and to make a better life for all of us in the U.S.," Nikil said. "I think Mr. Mustafa was really shocked by the $1,000, and he's conveyed a lot of gratitude. But I just wanted to give back something to a family who has had something terrible happen to them."
For more details on the VING Project, go to its website at: www.vingproject.org
kcullotta@tribpub.com
