They say, comfort zone is a beautiful place but nothing ever grows there. Meaning, when you are repetitively doing a particular activity or a particular job in a certain way for the long time then you get used to it. The newness of that activity gradually decreases and naturally it becomes a comfort zone for you. When it becomes a routine work also the prompt output for your side also diminishes and that is the time you should stop and jump out of it for an overall development of yourself.
Likewise, I chose to jump out of my comfort zone of a well-known media broadcasting house and joined Swasthya Swaraj a month back. It is my first experience of working with NGO, everything I get to know about here makes me amazed. I was asked to take charge of ‘Tulsi-Programme’ designed for making adolescent girls empowered. My first ever Tulsi program happened in a primary school of Melghara.
There were 37 girls from all the nearby villages participated in the 3 days programme. Those 3 days were full of activities designed for girls. All the activities were designed according to their taste and to make them comfortable and free from all the worries that they face in their daily lives. Every activity we conducted was to bring out the best in them. It was really a joyful experience for me to be with them for 3 days. I could observe them closely, a city based girl like me would never been so close to these girls. Their glittering hopeful eyes speaks a lot. Their each move towards me was demanding my concern and attention which they rarely get in their daily life. We all were a ray of hope for them.
As we were meeting them for the first time, they were a little shy at the beginning. They simply denied to talk at the very first time. So, we had to make them comfortable by playing some ice-breakers. Gradually their response increased and they became more receptive and responsive to us. Each day with them was a new learning experience for me.
With all the difficulties and hurdles those girls are living their life peacefully. Only thing that hinders their personal growth is a lack of education. Most of the girls were educated till std. 5th. Only 6 girls out of 37 were illiterate but when I asked them about educating themselves, they showed a strong urge to learn. That was a big surprise for us. Also, their knowledge and interest in cooking and natural cosmetics making was appreciable.
One thing that I regretted the most about these 3 days is I could not communicate with them wholeheartedly because of the language barrier. But the sharing of the wordless feelings were at its best. Their heartfelt good bye song for us was the cherry on the cake. These 3 days journey with those 37 tender, yet strong girls was indeed a memorable experience for us.
Written by Dr. Sandeep Praharsha
