There are a total of 23 girls in the age range of
1-18 including 2 especially abled children. We introduced
ourselves and then the girls introduced themselves by telling us about their
names and what they aspire to be in the future. The eyes of each one present
there gleamed with a sense of joy and confidence as they spoke about their
dreams.
Particularly, I was astonished by a 11th
standard girl, Priya, who stated that her dream is to become a cardiologist
only in CMC, Vellore. Her passion to achieve success is truly motivating and
inspiring. Most of the girls aspire to
become teachers, police officers, doctors, nurses etc. But the majority of
girls told us that they want to become a nurse. When we asked for the reason
for this, they replied that by becoming nurses, they want to nurture the
younger ones in the house and take care of the especially abled children which
left us awestruck. Two girls, Chintamani and Roja Krishnan, were awarded
a merit scholarship from the ministry of Human Resource Development of
Government of India
Another notable point was
that the girls were fairly fluent in English which made it easy for us to
interact with them. Then they spoke about their daily routine. The girls go to
various schools in Vellore based on their ages by their HOPE house bus.On
Saturdays, they watch movies including English ones such as Finding Nemo. On
Sundays, they read the verses from the Holy Bible and discuss the meaning of
every verse. The elder ones explain all this to the younger ones. They also
shared their experience about the trip to Hyderabad and the places they
visited.
Then the director of the HOPE house, Mr.Ruby Nakka,
gave us a brief description about the founding of the house. Hope
House is a registered charitable trust in India started by three NRI friends in
the US. Mr. Ruby Nakka, Mr. Manoah Mohanraj and Mr. Thomas Mathew studied
Occupational and Physiotherapy at Christian Medical College in Vellore in the
80's and went to the US on work visas. When the thought of relocation to
serve India struck Ruby, he shared it with other two friends who readily agreed
and supported him in his relocation apart from joining hands to start the work.
He told us that there are two types of orphanages: one is right based type and the other is welfare type. The welfare type is the conventional type
of orphanages where large number of children reside and they have no say in the
decision making process. Only the adults such as the director and the board of
trustees make decisions for the orphanage.
The HOPE house, which follows the right
based approach, involves the girls in their decision making process. For
example, the building where they reside was designed by an IIT Bombay graduate.
The director consulted the girls to finalize the design plan. The girls showed
remarkable brilliance by finding out the needed changes in the design which impressed
even the IITian who later made the necessary changes. The reason for adopting
this approach is to empower the girls, make them confident and dignified individuals.
Director feels that they are not inferior to anyone and possess the fundamental
birth rights. They can chase their dreams through hard work and perseverance
just like any others in the society.
He also told
that he is not the boss of them but he is a” worker” in their home. Abuse of
any kind is strictly not tolerated. Feedback is taken from the girls by the
Board of trustees regarding the behavior of the care takers including the
director regularly. A child protection document was signed by the caretakers.
Cameras have been installed inside the house and recording of each day is
saved.
The girls are given freedom to do whatever they want
to but it comes with the price tag of discipline and responsibility. One thing
which was very remarkable was that they had freedom and they knew the fact very
well that with freedom comes responsibility. We did ask for their laptop and so we
told them to take permission but the answer was its ours and we don’t need anyone’s
permission. The children have the right to question about the quality of food
but they should also feel responsible to help the caretakers in completing the
daily chores. The director wants the all-round development of the girls. He
wants them to develop curiosity and question the conventional wisdom.
The girls
also have been taught to use computers. The elder ones have access to internet
and have their own e-mail account. As English is a global language, the HOPE
house feels the need to teach English to their children and special importance
is given for this cause. We were joined later by a couple of relatives from a
sponsor’s family who came all the way from Kuwait to meet a girl named Priya
whose education is being sponsored by them.
Most of the girls hail from marginalized societies who have transformed
from being shy to fearless and confident.
The director’s message for them is “Never become mute when you witness
injustice. Despite being a girl, do not feel limited as you are also equal
citizens in our society”. The director
feels proud of each one of them.
Author of this article can be reached at this email address: shashankagrawal7794@gamil.com
Author of this article can be reached at this email address: shashankagrawal7794@gamil.com
No comments:
Post a Comment