Quintessential Kiran…
She is that ray of light, that spec of hope, which the young children pray
for when their little world plunges into the depths of gloom and murkiness
with no open arms ready to care for them
By Divyadarshini Patel
Growing up in the busy city of Kolkata, little did Kiran know about the difference that she would make in the lives of the disadvantaged in future. As any other child of her age, she would play around lighthearted, free of the worries of the world. As it was the custom then, she got married at an early age of 17, but was never denied quality education.
On completing her Ph. D in American Literature from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi, Dr. Kiran Modi went on to become founder/publisher/editor at
Neighbourhood Star, a community paper for South
Delhi, in 1984.
A name now synonymous with social welfare of children in the Northwestern regions of India, Kiran Modi established Udayan Care on 7 February 1994. An Honorary Managing Trustee at Udayan Care, she strongly believes in – ‘Tomorrow is another day’.
Kiran shares a timeless relation with Udayan - her son whom she lost in a tragic accident while he was studying economics in the US. As it was found out later, Udayan Modi, while still a student, regularly donated his allowances to charity for the welfare of the impoverished
children in Africa. A year later, to continue the selfless work that her son had initiated, Kiran Modi started Udayan Care.
Now when you go to any Udayan Ghar, you will encounter a lot many proud little Udayans, working their way towards a bright future. They are an ever chirpy, enthusiastic group of ‘wanna-be-somethings’ no different from the normal children, despite the tortures and traumas they have been through earlier in life. I have visited a few of their homes and I can tell you that the Udayan family is one big happy family… ever blooming and bountiful!
Mentor parents
Mentoring is the presence of caring individuals who provide support, advice, friendship, reinforcement and constructive examples to the young inmates. All children have the potential to succeed in life and contribute to the society if they are provided proper mentoring.
However, not all children get the support they need to thrive. If we reflect on our own youth, we possibly will remember someone who served as a mentor, someone we could trust and turn to for support and encouragement, someone who made us feel special.
The same application has worked wonders in the case of Udayan Care where 28 Mentor Mothers/Fathers, who are proudly referred to as “Ladies/Gentlemen of Vision”, have over the years, committed themselves for bringing smiles to the faces of young children at Udayan Care, voluntarily.
Their Roles/Duties/Responsibilities include the following:
- Day to day mentoring and emotional support to children
- Supervising and monitoring school and academic activities, including attending school Parent- Teacher Association meetings.
- Coordinating activities with the other Mentor Mother/Father looking after the children.
- Managing volunteers
Innovative programmes
Udayan Care is a Public Charitable Trust, which works for its theory of change through various innovative programmes:
Residential programme for orphaned and abandoned children- Udayan Ghars (HOMES): These are residential homes for long term care of orphaned and abandoned children through a strategy called L.I.F.E: Living In Family Environment. Currently 180 children are being nurtured with love, protection and proper education in 12 Homes across Delhi, NCR, Kurukshetra and Jaipur.
Udayan Shalini Fellowship Programme: Monetary as well as mentoring support is provided to girls from weaker sections of society, to continue their
education.
Since its commencement in 2002, it has supported 1462 girl students. This programme is currently being run in Delhi, Kurukshetra, Aurangabad, Dehradun and Kolkata.
Udayan Care IT & VT
Centres: The IT and VT centres help to develop vocational skills and opportunities for underserved youth and adults, aiming to help them reach financial
independence. At present, five computer and vocational training centres are being run, focusing to bridge the digital divide and impart business skills to increase the employability of the
beneficiaries.
Udayan Outreach Programme: This programme responds to emergent needs of children. Through outreach, help is extended to children of HIV+ parents, who are in financial difficulties because of the debilitating illness. At present, 62 children and 42 families avail the benefits of this programme.
Advocacy: Udayan Care engages in research on the care of disadvantaged children. Through organising conferences, participating in NGO networks, developing policy recommendations, the protection of child rights is ensured.
Volunteer & Internship Programme: Udayan Care’s Internship Program provides a great opportunity for students to learn and gain on-the-job
exposure.
— For more information about Udayan Care, please visit http://www.udayancare.org
Adding a different meaning to L.I.F.E.
|
At 56, Kiran is an icon of love, faith and compassion for the Udayan Ghar children. The Bua (aunt), whom the children are very fond of, describes life at Udayan Care for us in the interview below.
What was the inspiration behind the establishment of Udayan Care?
Udayan Care was established to carry forward the vision and duty towards the society that Udayan Modi (1972-1993) had envisaged.
Udayan means Eternal Sunrise in Sanskrit and that is what Udayan Care does – It Regenerates the Rhythm of L.I.F.E (Living In
Family Environment) of the
Disadvantaged.
How has the life of the children improved from this endeavor?
Under the Udayan Care flagship programme, Udayan Ghar, we have tried to understand through constant study, what the children at normal orphanages lack. The main observation was that these children went in as orphans and came out at
orphans!
In lieu of this observation we came up with a group foster care model which we call L.I.F.E. Children join the Udayan family as orphans, who have felt abandonment, lived through abuses and have suffered physical as well as mental ordeal. But at L.I.F.E Udayan Ghars they find a loving and caring family for lifetime, committed to help them carve a niche for themselves in the society. We put in all our efforts to help them experience the ‘joy of living’. Today, Udayan Ghars have touched 217 lives, out of which 180 are residing with us at the moment. Overall, with our presence in seven states in the country, we have touched more than 7500 lives through our long-term care
efforts.
How do the L.I.F.E. Udayan homes work?
Firstly, we ensure that the homes that roof all Udayans are located in middle class neighbourhoods. This guarantees proper environment for the children to prosper. Mentor parents take care of nurturing the young minds with guidance to build values and ethics.
Care givers look after their physical requirements and tutors meet their educational needs. Individual Progress plan (IPP) is the key to define a progress path for every child through supervision, education and counseling.
For their first year at the home, the children are provided home schooling after which they get admissions in the best schools in the neighbourhood. Udayan Care is run by funds collected through donations, sponsorships and events. Many individuals, Trusts, Foundations and Corporates also support us for this good cause.
A message for the young
Indians…
Young India does not need any special message from me. The young people that I come across these days are aware about the social responsibility they shoulder. They are eager and interested in doing work for a social cause and are already involved in many social activities for uplifting the Indian society on the whole. The government along with a few NGOs cannot make a difference. Each and every Indian needs to come up and extend individual help to give that ideal make
over to India, which would be
applauded globally.
|
|
To read in print format subscribe to the magazine Download Subscription Form
|
