I have a masters degree in psychology. But I knew that this was the kind of work that I wanted to do. For life. It all started with my foster father. My father was a barefooted person. Too poor to provide us all with education. Initially at least. He was working for the government. But he was at the bottom of the pyramid. He experienced social rejection. First hand. He was ostracized by our entire community because we belonged to the lowest of low classes. And this hurt him deeply. He was a very frustrated man. But he lived with dignity.
You know, whenever he boarded a public bus, he would never sit on any of the seats even if they were empty because he knew the so-called high-class people would object to it. I was his elder most son. We are four brothers in all. Initially, he did not have the money to pay for my school fees. So after the sixth standard, I was put in a hostel.
We had only two sets of clothes. We would wear a towel and wait till our clothes dried if we wanted to wear clean clothes. That is how poor we were. In fact, we would wear our school uniforms to attend weddings because that was the best pair of clothes that we possessed. We did even have the luxury of travelling in buses or trains until much much later in our lives.
I still remember that number – 187 – even today. Somebody had donated a lot of funds to the hostel that I was studying in. And I saw this number written against my name in that register. That is all I know. I will never forget that number. I still don’t know who that donor was. But he had given enough money to fund the education of 5 children who studied in that hostel. And I was one of those five children. I could do my bachelor’s degree in psychology only because of that person’s generosity.
That was one major reason that motivated me to join HOPE. Some unknown person had brought about a real and valuable change in my life. I had to do the same for others now. Yes, I spent my childhood in a small village near Coimbatore. I work in Delhi now. You want to know how I moved from Coimbatore to Delhi?
You know sometimes rejection creates turning points in our lives. When I was studying in school, I had joined the NCC. I was an extremely disciplined cadet and getting selected for the RD Parade in New Delhi was a matter of prestige. I don’t know if you are aware. But the entire parade marches from the Rashtrapati Bhavan through Rajpath till it reaches India Gate.
I was the third candidate to get selected from my district. And I was so so happy to see my name on that list. But the very next day, I was shocked to see that my name had been removed and another boy from another district was selected in my place. It was obvious. The officer in charge preferred a boy from his native district against a more deserving and more meritorious cadet like me.
And that seared through my soul. My father somehow managed to provide basic education to my three younger brothers. It was extremely difficult for him to do all this. But he did it. Because he did not want his sons to go through all that he had experienced in his life. He was determined to give us all good education. By the time I completed my Bachelor’s degree, he was a pensioner.
I had a few friends in Delhi. And I asked my father for 5000 rupees, booked a train ticket and told my friends that I would be staying with them till I got a job in Delhi. And you know the first thing I did when I landed in Delhi is – like a mad person – I marched all the way from Rashtrapati Bhavan, through Rajpath till I reached India Gate – in the night that too.
I had to prove to myself – more than to anyone else – that I was capable of fulfilling my dreams too. Yes, rejection does have such a deep impact on us. I landed a very good corporate job as soon as I came to Delhi. And then pursued my master’s degree in psychology through the open university in Delhi.
And then came another turning point in my life. The CEO of the firm in which I was working was a medical doctor. He would go out of the way to offer his service to the people who lived in the HOPE Centres in Delhi. I would often accompany him.
And after a year or so, I knew it was time for me to do – for others- what my unknown foster father – had done for me. I too joined HOPE. I have been working here for 20 years now. Yes, I did call two of my younger brothers to Delhi. I wanted them to experience life in a metropolitan city. They too work for HOPE now.
20 years. I have been working for HOPE for 20 years now. I have seen so many children struggling when they initially came to us. Today, they are all strapping young lads and girls – with a decent education – equipped with skills – and quite capable of earning a living for themselves.
Yes, these are street children, children of leprosy patients, children who have been abandoned in dust bins or children who live in slums – below BPL – below the poverty line. Pathetic. Their condition is truly pathetic. That’s the only thing I can say about their lives.
Ah yes. The skills can range from plumbing to electrical wiring or repairing to writing code and even Artificial Intelligence. Yes, some volunteers from multinational companies do educate our children. But we have professionals who work for us too. Some companies fund a specific project. Other companies fund the primary education of our children.
When someone finds an abandoned baby or a child in a dust bin or on the street, they inform the police. The police bring such children to our orphanages and we look after them. Yes, we adopt a lot of children. We have the legal systems in place for this entire procedure. Yes yes, even people from other countries adopt our children. If nobody adopts a particular child we shift that child to another child care home. We ensure that the child gets higher education and learns some skills too. After 18 years of age, he or she is free to go wherever he/she pleases.
I feel deeply satisfied that we are able to bring about a real change in the lives of such people. Some children literally live on the streets. The father may be a criminal. He may not even know who his mother is. Often they are young and lost. Clueless about why they are on the streets. We talk to the child first, calm him down and help him recollect something at least. Then we try to return the child to the parents. We literally travel for miles with the hope that the child will remember where he is from. Often we do succeed.
My mother is obviously very proud to see us all well settled in life. My elder daughter is studying clinical psychology and my younger daughter is in the 9th. Yes, I did take them to our village and showed them the hostel that I lived in and also our home there. It was an eye-opener for them too.
I ask them to accompany me whenever I visit our orphanages or old age homes or schools. I want to sensitize them to the plight of others who are not as fortunate as us. Yes. We need to air such things openly. People need to talk about things like the caste system too. So you can write about it.