'Angels With Broken Wings'

This summer, thanks to my great mum, I got an opportunity to volunteer for this extremely special summer camp organized by SFS (Special Families Support), a support organization for the less fortunate special children and their families. Before I get started, let me list out a few 'characters' that are vital for this post. Gulshan Kavarana - the founder of SFS, who to me is Gulshan aunty - the coolest aunty ever, with the biggest possible heart & Deepa - the organiser of the summer camp – who is very sweet and really hard-working.

My first day of the camp itself, was very enlightening. Gulshan aunty asked us, the volunteers, "Why are you here?" My confidence self, confidently uttered "We are here to help these special kids." "What rubbish!", was the reply, "These kids don't need your help, they can handle themselves." She told us that we were here to merely accompany them and to a certain extent, support them. We were there to be their friends, and to see them as our friends, and to bring smiles to their faces, and provide them and their parents an escape from the difficult world they live in. As it turns out, I love doing exactly that, so my enthusiasm levels have been very high for the past month, especially when I am with them. And quite obviously, I thoroughly enjoyed everyday of the summer camp, and am still enjoying every day - as the camp is still not over.

As days went by at the camp, Gulshan aunty found out (I think through me) that I could make 'stupid IT presentations'. So she asked me come over to her place and make a special presentation for her younger daughter, Zaara, her 'angel with broken wings'. I agreed to do it because I wanted to do it. I reached her place at noon and immediately got to work. I asked her, "Aunty, what's the objective of this video?" She said that, thorugh this video, she wanted to portray the beauty of her daughter, Zaara, and go beyond what most people saw in her - her disability. She wanted to delineate the fact that Zaara was a miracle, a gift from heaven, that she was their love. After that, the video almost sidetracked. I was keener on knowing what aunty and her family had been through and how Zaara had changed their lives, for the better. Gulshan aunty told me that Zaara taught them 'unconditional love'. She had taught them to see people for what they are, and not merely as they appear. Gulshan aunty said that Zaara helped her burst out of the cocoon that most of us are still enclosed in, the cocoon that family is everything. Zaara helped aunty to reach out to other people and other special families that were going through similar ups and downs. Thus, she instigated SFS - Special Families Support, an organization to bring together and support those familes that were a little less fortunate. 7 years of functioning, this organization has definitely changed and affected many people's life. Gulshan aunty continued that now, she is addicted to this organization. She just has to be around these kids, for they sustain her, and teach her values and lessons that no one else can. She told me that she loved being around the kids because they saw you for what you are, and not as what you appear (tall, thin, fat and so on) and told me that it's a pity that we can't see them like they see us. It's a pity that some of us cannot see them for what they are, humans with heart, soul, and love, love that oozes out because they have so much of it.

The video I eventually made was decent, but the experience I had with Gulshan aunty and her family overshadowed the video. It shattered my previously narrow-minded approach. It opened new horizons, and gateways of thought that I needed to dive into. As I absorbed every word that aunty told me, I actually learnt acceptance.

This summer camp has made my summer complete in its own way. Previously, I had never done anything like this, so I did not know what to expect. This camp took me by storm, for what I have learnt from this experience is boundless. It has opened my narrow mind to dimensions of thought that I would have never had. Adding to that, the pure satisfaction that I get from seeing smiles on their faces, and the joy that small things can bring them, is priceless. However idealistic and fake this sounds, I get satisfaction from their satisfaction, and that is the satisfaction and the joy that is priceless. This camp has made me realize that social work is necessary not only for the 'hours' that are required for your University Application, but for the learning experience that no other service can cater. I want to stay affiliated to SFS because the work done here is genuine and heartfelt. Nothing is forced, and we (as I can proudly say as now I am a part of this group) do things, because we want to do them. Thanks to Gulshan aunty for starting this organization and to Deepa for wonderfully organising this summer camp.

P.S. - This is not a corporate article typed to uphold and/or advertise SFS.