My Calling in Life!

I truly believe that God puts you through experiences so that you understand your calling in life. Just at the right time. Just the way it must happen. I am no exception.

While I had a fulfilling role as a Corporate Communications professional at Cognizant, and the deadline-driven, PR portfolio kept me on my toes; I was inspired by the volunteer-driven CSR work by Cognizant employees. It was tough not to be influenced by the heart-warming stories that the team would write in the blogs or listen to their presentations that would always touch an inner chord. Inspired by all the work that the company employees did across remote corners of the city; I tried to find opportunities closer to home.

A friend recommended Bala Mandir and I tried to explore the possibility of volunteering. Bala Mandir was happy to open its doors to volunteers. Ashok Aiyar encouraged us to spend time with the children. Jitha, my colleague from Cognizant and I, started out as two passionate individuals wanting to give back. One fine Saturday morning, I set foot in Bala Mandir with my daughter, to teach paper quilling. Within an hour, the class of 50 children had emptied the two Fevicol bottles and used up all the quilling paper to create butterflies, flowers, rainbows, and greeting cards. Some girls even tried making ear studs and danglers with the paper. This was fun and just the beginning.

In the next session, we explored teaching spoken English. Jitha and I were quick to realise that the children, needed a larger team to help with English language learning – speech, comprehension, and writing, included. Cognizant was quick to enlist Bala Mandir as a partner and allocated a set of volunteers to start an English programme. Maya Gaitonde, the Hon General Secretary of the organisation, asked me to bring our kids along for the volunteering sessions as peer interaction enabled faster learning among children. Saturday mornings were our rendezvous at Bala Mandir with a slew of volunteers, who would take classes for the home children in the Vidyalaya block.

From reading Pratham Books, to sharing YouTube videos on science and geography; to playing British Council music resources to sing along; to using smartboards to teach pronunciation; to scripting and training the children for cultural events…it was a continuous journey of learning and fun for all the volunteers. Looking backwards, I think the six years’ volunteering experience of teaching Bala Mandir home children, gave me an exposure to an unknown world – the life of parentless children. It taught me compassion and gratitude. It taught me to truly serve with no expectations. It taught me humility and changed me as a person. Connecting the dots, I realise that I was destined to be associated with Bala Mandir in a more meaningful way. And that my 6-year volunteering journey, would bring me closer to the children of Bala Mandir.

What started as a weekly engagement with the 50 children in the Bala Mandir home, has today paved the way for me to take full-time responsibility as head of Kinship Care, to help 850 children across 9 districts of Tamil Nadu. As I complete two years in Kinship Care on 1 April 2024, I ask myself, is this my calling in life?