The First Lady…

I was appointed as ‘the first lady’ social worker in Bala Mandir’s Kinship Care programme. I was excited and at the same time scared of this new journey. The friendly environment and good guidance gave me the confidence to move forward with my new experience. In the first week of my joining, I got an opportunity to meet the Chennai Collector, Ms Aruna, IAS; who was in Bala Mandir for an event. I consider it a privilege to meet her and cherish this as a life time opportunity! I still have the photo that captures my joyous moment with her. She was so humble, encouraged me and told me that she was happy to meet a young woman social worker in Bala Mandir.

Then I met the District Child Protection Officer and his team of professionals in his organisation. It was again a happy, learning experience.  It was only during the second week of the Kinship Care journey in the field when I met with children impacted by Covid deaths, that the stark reality hit me. The entire week was an emotional one for me and my heart went out to the families in distress. This was my exposure to poverty, penury and sheer helplessness in my stakeholder community. This brought in a greater sense of responsibility, where apart from empathy and compassion, I made a resolve to help these families to the best of my ability.

As I recollect my thoughts to pen this story, I have completed one year. Today, I support over 90 children in and around Chennai from 54 families; supported over 61 children with timely school fees payments, and included 30 children to our English reading programme. I also helped with extending counselling services to over 40 mothers and also facilitated livelihood support to 6 mothers. These experiences are gratifying and help me end my day on a happy note, knowing fully well that my work makes a true difference to the lives of children who have lost one or both parents.