My Journey through Juvenile Care
Gowtam Prithvi (Board of 2015–2016)
For those of you who don’t know me, I was one of the people who was fortunate enough to have been a member of Juvenile Care for over 4 years during my time in college.Even though 4 years might not seem much, to count the experiences and memories I gathered are infinite.For those who just stumble onto this, Juvenile Care VIT is a youth led organization working for child rights and child abuse eradication in the city of Vellore. The mission of this organization is to provide a platform for youth to step up and work for the betterment of society. JC is all about warm stories of not just unprivileged kids receiving help but also those about the ones extending their helping hand.
If I had to pick one, the biggest life lesson I learnt during my time as a volunteer in the Each One Teach One program was how to appreciate a new feeling, a feeling many of us never really know until experienced by oneself. I was happy before I joined Juvenile Care and I was happy after joining it, so what exactly was the difference? It took me a while to figure out that the feeling I’m trying to pinpoint is “fulfillment”. I learnt how small steps can leave strong footprints. During my tenure, spending time with specially abled kids created a whole new level of impact which I definitely could not fathom back then. Looking back at it , I can now connect all the dots. Every time I visited the orphanage we worked with, the youngest of the lot would often come running with their arms outstretched and greet me and the guys accompanying me with a warm hug or fist bump or a well-choreographed high five and most important of all, their smiles. The older ones would greet us and then go about doing their homework or approach us with doubts to finish their homework quickly. They were always happy no matter what situation they were in. Life wasn’t fair to them, yet none complained , they always found happiness in little things around them. Their excitement knew no bounds if a friend had his/her birthday that day or if one of us surprised them with stationary gifts. However small the gesture was, they were astoundingly happy. It was in these moments that I learned how to look for a half-filled glass of water instead of complaining about a half empty one.
There was a time in my life when receiving help from people had become so normal, I barely thought twice about it. The times with JC, with the kids and doing good for others really put things in perspective, taught me how grateful I was for everything in my life. I can’t help but think how the children whose life we were a part of, will make a substantial difference once they step into the wide world outside. I hope they grow into fierce fighters battling whatever disrupts their way and just find happiness in life, because god knows, they deserve all the happiness in the world. Juvenile care has always striven to equip these kids vocationally and mentally, or in any way that it seems necessary. If these children are well equipped, as the next generation, it fills me with so much joy to imagine what they would achieve, extending the same help extended to them tenfold. Many times when we hear a heartwarming story of a difference being made in an underprivileged kid’s life, we pause and always think about the impact of the situation on the kid. We seldom pause to think about the impact on those bringing about that difference, I believe this impact had pushed me and my team to do the things that we did and as a matter of fact, it was the reason behind the success of Juvenile Care since the time of its inception.
Most of the children from what I noticed were intellectually sharp , exhibited a lot of maturity in both their deeds as well as thoughts. I always wondered as to how we could help them more effectively. This is where the Juvenile care team came in, if you go back to the beginning of this article, you will find the sentence “ The mission of this organization is to provide a platform for youth to step up and work for the alleviation of society” . Our team not only planned effective outreach ways but also tried to involve as many volunteers as possible for one definite reason , the more a person is engaged, the more habitual he/she becomes. When the act of extending a helping hand kicks in without any expectation , the society becomes a better place. I have learnt that when a group of like-minded people come together and share a common vision, they definitely will strive to fulfill their dream, in this process, a feeling of trust is developed , hence giving rise to a beautiful tribe working towards a common goal. Juvenile Care was, is and will always be my tribe.
