“One of my earliest memories of doing selfless service for the community commenced with my parents. Hailing from a very ordinary middle class family, I have had days when we didn’t have food to eat too. But even in those days, my parents would never fail to give back in whatever way they can.
There have been countless instances when we have been made to cut back on our expenses in order to buy groceries for people who couldn’t afford even the basic expenses. And every Christmas my mother has always made it a point to give food and clothes for around 100 people from different communities.
So this set the stage early on for me. I would even go on to say that my parents have always been the first inspirations for me. So continuing down the line, my first life changing experience came in the form of a tutor who came to our school to train a specific set of students in social work.
It was a phenomenal experience where we were given hands on experience in leading and organising events for the disadvantaged members of the society. So it went without saying that, having had the solid foundation laid out for me, I could just step on them and find my own path in this world of social work.
What followed were relentless years of social service. As someone who had chosen to remain single out of choice, I was put under some unspeakable experiences. But the silver lining in all of them was that every sad story only made me stronger. I became invincible. And life brought in a sweet miracle in the form of a husband. For everything I feared in a partnership, I was astonished to see how the universe drops in surprises now and then. I found a beautiful partner in my 34th year and together, we have explored the path of social work for all these years.
Slowly, the members from my own batch started to get in touch with me and I started a whatsapp group. As and when there’s a requirement, we would move around the group and each of us would contribute a specific amount which when crowd sourced, would be a significant figure. We have done incredible work in some of the remote villages of the city and also contributed during circumstances like the pandemic and the floods.
At the end of the day, all I have to say is that each of us hold in us the power to make a change in this world. If we can set aside 1 rupee in our expenses of 10 rupees, it would still make a paramount difference to someone out there. Giving to me has become second nature thanks to my wonderful parents who showed me how. And I want to continue the legacy and inspire everyone to come forward and do their bit for the society.”
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