Udaaan aasma tak. Love everyone around!

I always had a soft corner for children, since 2011 when I read an old local newspaper “ HINDUSTAN”, which dedicated 2 of its pages to the life of orphan children. On Diwali eve, I got to learn this side of orphanages for the first time. 44 children (19 boys and 25girls) were moved to a different place after shocking revelation of pregnancy of a 13 years old girl in Vidyavati Ashram and the orphanage was sealed by The Women and Child welfare committee. There must be more reports like this, I wondered and wished if I could ever help any of the children.

5 years later, when I was about to forget my resolution, suddenly, I met 3 crazy girls, Priya, Pragati, and Nimisha, who were volunteers at Udaan-aasma take (An NGO that works for the betterment of children). Since Priya was my roommate, I got to observe her life very closely. She was mad for kids. She was very much concerned about their education. The rest ladies also used to work overnight just for one lovely smile of children. I got to know GLA University has adopted many of the villages, and the students volunteer to teach and arranging events for the children of nearby villages, who go to government schools. After the college hours, the Udaan club used to teach them, and they even used to dedicate their weekends to going to school, teaching, and playing with them.

Influenced by these three lovely girls and their dedicated team, I decided to be a part of their visit to schools. I got to spend my weekend with those children. They were wonderful. I was so overwhelmed by their innocent smile. They took away my heart! In just two visits, one of the kids insisted me to visit his home and the next day bought some fruits for me.

Suddenly I felt some kind of attachment with kids. But due to some unavoidable circumstances, I could not continue with them, probably because I was afraid of getting emotional or maybe due to failure of time management! I could not go there again, even forget their names and faces, but I miss them, I miss that feeling, I miss that peace, I miss that satisfaction. I wish to be part of that dedicated team again, I wish to go there again; and I wish to meet those kids again….

This blog is incomplete, so was my journey in Udaan. I hope someday I will be able to complete it. There I learned the difference between smile and happiness. You may smile in your life, but to get peace and real happiness, try helping others.

For now, I have a suggestion from Jessica Blaine Smith’s diary. She quoted, “Gestures of kindness can change lives- theirs and yours. Say hi to strangers. Be generous whenever possible, generous with your money, your skills, and your time. Spend as much time outside as possible. Eat what is fresh, what is in season, what is local. Find someone who can fix that broken thing. Support local and independent”

Originally published at https://sakshimishrablogs.blogspot.com.