Being a caregiver itself is a challenging job. We have to keep this in our mind that these kids have not seen their parents’ love, that they have gone through a lot in such a small age and this is the reason behind why these kids are never satisfied. They don’t sleep, they easily get frustrated, they fight a lot. Moreover, they ask hard questions, like once a child told me that she hated God. I asked why and she said, “If God really was nice, would He have taken away my parents?” So at times it really becomes difficult for us to make them happy.

Even something as simple as food can be a challenge. Many of my kids come from an organization where around two hundred and fifty kids stay together and some could get food and some could not. So whenever I used to call them for food, they all used to rush at the food because of the fear of going hungry. It took me years to make them understand that, this is Udayan Care, you will get enough food here, if it’s finished we will get you more. Finally they realized this and now they eat in a proper manner.

I feel caregivers are true parents. We see these kids growing and succeeding in front of our eyes. For example, five of our children won gold medals in various games on their sports day at their school. This makes me feel like all the training I have given them (like taking them out for morning walk, exercise) is paying off. When the children accomplish things, I feel like their life is changing and I have been able to help in bringing about this change in their life. Knowing that I can bring about a change in the life of all the children brings me happiness. And once, when a few of my children had TB, Kiran Ma’am told me that there is no better nurse than me to take care of the children, as I myself have been a patient of TB. So I made the children stay at my home, took care of them and nursed them back to health. These girls still remember the things. I feel it in the hugs they give me whenever they meet me.

So it is these little things that matter to me. I never got bored of what I do because I know I am providing support to these children. There is no bigger reward than this feeling when children come to me and tell me that they were able to achieve something because of my help.

[Three words to sum up being a caregiver] are “Caring, Loving and Mentoring” because our job is just incomplete without these three things. It is the love we give them which really helps them in building their confidence. Caring for the kids is a 24 hour job. We have to be for them always. It is not an easy job. Yet, it is the satisfaction of knowing that somewhere I have contributed in changing the life of child that is the best part of my life.