It was the fag end of my graduation. Everyone around me was going crazy with filling up multiple forms for assorted colleges, taking coaching classes for various competitive exams, undergoing counseling sessions. All wanted to get into the top business schools with just one focus in their mind which was to “earn money”. Amidst all this fervor and money being the sole motivating factor for most of the students, entering into the realm of professional social work was a tough decision. You could see eyebrows rising and people bombarding you with verbal arrows. Despite all the pressure around where people were reluctant to accept any opinion contradictory to their idea about social work I decided to pursue masters in Social Work.
Undergoing masters in social work has been an enriching experience. I received exposure to the stark realities of living in Delhi and the strength that various individuals displayed to withstand all these troubles with a smile on their face. Each opportunity to interact with people has been a learning experience and has had a tremendous impact on my thought process.
During this phase innumerable individuals have impacted my life. One such person has been Pritam. I came in touch with Pritam while I was interning with a school. As a social worker I had to shoulder the responsibility of engaging all the students into various community services and awareness generation programs. Hence I was in direct contact with all the school kids. While on one hand some students displayed special inclination towards the subject, others were a challenge to engage into the various activities. One student who was always there to carry out every task was Pritam. A shy and very polite grade XII student, Pritam carried out any responsibility levied on his shoulders with perfection. I was awed at the amount of dedication he displayed while carrying out the tasks for the community members especially for the youth. Due to this he had become a favorite amongst all the teachers, students and even the community. During the close interaction with grade XII I learnt that Pritam came from a very difficult educational and social background. Disinterested in studies he flunked in grade IX for four consecutive times after which he was expelled from the school. Being the team leader of the local gang in the community he was engaged in all kind of wrong activities such as gang fights. At that point of time using abusive language was a habit he was really proud about. He spent two years being out of the education system before coming in contact with a school run by an NGO. Through the motivation that he received from the NGO people he realized that he could lead a healthy life by transforming himself. Thus he assured his family that he will resume his studies again and joined the school. The alternative methodology of teaching accompanied by the high emphasis on self development paved a way for enhancing his skills and knowledge. Pritam realized the importance of education and thus set an aim in his life too. With constant touch with social workers he also channelized his efforts to work towards community betterment. Today Pritam has been instrumental in helping all the youth in his group to either join school or earn a living by working.
A student like Pritam taught me that where there is a will there is a way. It’s been 3 years that I have been associated with this field professionally. Such instances strengthened my determination to work with the people directly. The driver for work being –‘working with and for others’ helps me in overcoming a lot of dilemmas that I may confront in my daily life because I realized that my commitment towards this cause has brought about some change in an individual’s life.
Swati Kukreti
NIIT Foundation
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