This summer, I got an opportunity to work with a Non Government Organization in India. It all started when I arrived at the country to visit my grandparents. I visited them, and asked them if they knew of any projects that I could work on, they said that they weren't familiar with any. Hearing this response, I decided to make it my job to find a project to work on in the summer. I researched on the internet about different NGO's that were looking for volunteers, I was able to find a list of them. They all stood for a variety of causes that the country was facing. The one that caught my eye though, was a NGO that worked with young children, who were in conflict with the law. These children were boys who ranged from the ages as low as 5 years old, to 17 years old. These children were usually in trouble with the law for some form of substance abuse. My interest in becoming a lawyer at that time, led me to sending an email to them asking for any volunteering opportunities. I scheduled a meeting with the person who started the organisation.
The next week, I went to the nearest spym office and I was surprised to see that the person who created this organisation was well accomplished. He had earned a variety honorable awards, even from the President of India. I waited for a while, and then he arrived. At first he misunderstood me for a college student due to my height, but after I told him that I had just graduated middle school, the first question he asked me was why I wanted to volunteer? I wasn’t very surprised when he asked me this question, because the concept of volunteering and community service isn’t really enforced on the young generations in India. I answered that I was interested in learning about these children, and making a difference in society. I also said that the actions I take now, will transform society, and even me as a person. He said that due to my age, I wouldn’t be able to work with the children, but I would be able to perform some other jobs that don’t require children interactions.
The following day, I went to the juvenile program spym. The car ride to the place took two hours, and it felt like forever. My mom came along with me, because she said that she wanted to meet with her friend who lived near the place we were going to. I walked into the building, and I was shocked to see that they were some really young kids at the place. I went to the office and met the person incharge of this project. He began by showing me around, and introducing me to the project I would be working on. He said that I would get to work on the documentation aspect, since I wasn’t allowed to meet the children. He assigned me three case studies, that were basically notes taken from counselling sessions the children had attended. He said he wanted me to convert these notes, into a story about each of these children. He wanted me to write about how they landed in this facility based on the notes.
I began writing the case study accounts, and as I was reading them, I could see the different walks of life people come from. I was able to closely look and examine the different reasons the children seeked comfort in substance abuse. I was able to conclude that the, children were influenced by their parents habits of smoking, and/or were pressurised by their peers into taking up drugs. Also, I noticed that the children were successful in picking up the habit of doing drugs, because their parents didn’t pay enough attention to them. Two of the children said that their parents worked full time jobs, and another said that his dad worked full time and his mom spent most of her time looking after his younger siblings.
After reading all the case studies thoroughly, I could conclude that child negligence was probably the main reason the children sought substance abuse.
I worked on the project for around 3-4 hours everyday for a week. I hated the two hour commute to the place, but I still woke up early in the summer and went to volunteer. On the final day of my project, the person in charge, let me observe what they teach the children. I went into the classroom at the facility, and saw that they used examples of celebrity's to teach the children about substance abuse. When I asked why, they said it was because the children could recognize the public figures, and could identify a past similar to theirs. At this point I even asked why there were young children at the facility? He answered that many times, the kids are there because they were found on a scene of crime that involved alcohol or drugs. In many cases the child has not done anything, but since they have seen what has taken place, they don't want that to influence the child's future behaviour, so the child is brought to their facility. I felt very enlightened after receiving these answers.
At the end of my summer trip, I felt very accomplished. I had seen a part of the country that most people hadn't, and the best part was I could contribute towards helping it. Picking this project up was a great choice I made for myself. I was able to learn about juveniles in conflict with the law, and help them.
