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...
Christmas is about the spirit of joy, caring and sharing; carrying with it the message of love, hope and harmony. Celebrating Christmas with the children of Bala Mandir and seeing their faces light up when they decorated the Christmas tree with the team of volunteers from Cognizant, will always be etched in my memory. A volunteer...
This is the real story of a family impacted by a non-Covid death. This family was referred to us by the DCPU in Tiruvallur as they needed the Kinship Care support, even more. Vijaya’s father passed away due to a stroke. The mother Lakshmi had no idea on how to raise two daughters all by herself,...
I still remember my first visit to a family as vividly as it was yesterday. Strangely enough, this family had settled down better and I did not feel a tug at the heart when I met the children and their mother. But after a few visits in the next couple of days, every day was...
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...
This is the real story of the travails of a mother with three daughters in a remote village in Tiruvannamalai, after the death of the bread-winner, to Covid. Names have been changed and faces have been masked to protect child rights Chandira lost her husband Sankar, a driver, to Covid. He was earning Rs 9000 per...
As part of my field visits, I look up children, interact with them and try to build a bond with them. After my due diligence on the phone, I visited the home of 12-year-old Ananya in Katpadi. Generally, children respond to my questions and are the live wire of the homes. But in this visit,...
As a social worker, my heart goes out to the poorest of the poor, those dwelling in slums and those who study in Government schools, because they can’t afford a paid school. A case in point is the information about Shree Sisters, that I got from the Government database for Covid deaths. After my due...
I was working as a social worker in Bala Mandir for nearly 10 years. I was pulled in by the management to talk about a new concept, where in we would have to meet children from Covid-impacted families, and take them under our fold, virtually! Yes, virtually. I was happy to join the team, as...
As the first employee of Bala Mandir Kinship Care, I was given a list of Covid deaths and asked to meet their families. There were clear criteria for selection, including the financial status of the family and children under 12 years of age, among many other factors to consider for a child to be part...
