Now that I have seen, what do I do with my newfound insight? Learn more.

I had forgotten until just the other day my lasting impressions from Egypt back in 1997. Without doubt, my excesses were glaringly apparent to me. Crude and simple buildings dotted the dirt roads, Bedouin families lived in lonely tents in the desert, children ran about the streets selling 25 cent string bracelets by the bushel to every tourist. People had few material possessions, and I was embarrassed to have a Ford Explorer sitting in the driveway back home.

Still, I left Egypt with a strange twinge of envy. I felt they were so much closer to the crux of what truly matters in the end – to family, to friends, to community.

But then again, they had the bare necessities, and then some. Egypt, at least the parts of it that I experienced, was no India. There were no shantytowns, no rows of people sleeping on the filthy streets, no children urinating shamelessly among the crowds. I could look people in the eye and smile, rather than lower them in discomfort. India brought me face to face with poverty on this planet, that half of the global population who live on less than $2 a day. It may sound dramatic, but it does change you.

It all makes you want to do something, but what? How easily could I have pulled an Rs.100 bill from my pocket ($2) and fed that little boy who implored me to buy that 10 cent newspaper and his family for a week? Would that have solved for much of anything? It’s not about giving a dollar, it’s about using a dollar in such a way to create a multiplier effect and truly catalyze change. How does one do that and who are the right organizations to drive that sort of change? That is no easy problem to solve.

Poverty alleviation through such means is a large part of what we are addressing at Google.org, and I happen to be in the fortunate position to be involved with the team. I am just beginning to scratch the surface in understanding the problem and failed approaches of the past, there are so many great books out there I can’t wait to read. Seeing India firsthand, more than anything, has further galvanized my desire to learn more.