Receiving to Offering

“Reflections of My Journey from receiving support to now offering”

Reflecting on my journey from receiving support to now offering it, I realize how much I’ve grown and how much more I hope to accomplish. My lived experience of being in care and transitioning out of it successfully has taught me the profound importance of having someone who truly understands and stands by you, at every step of your life. This understanding is the cornerstone of my work with and for care leavers, locally and globally. 

As the care leavers’ engagement officer at Udayan Care, my role extends beyond simply fulfilling a job; it’s a mission to ensure that care leavers in India and abroad always feel supported and hopeful. And that I can be the ‘someone’ in their lives, whenever they need to fall back on someone they can trust. I remember what it was like to be in need of support and wanting to explore my life and become part of a larger society. Often, I received sympathy instead of what I actually needed. This personal experience remains my strength today and drives me to bring the support with empathy in care leavers' lives through programs such as GCLC and  LIFT.  Today, I work to facilitate  their agency and identify their strengths and transform their potential into creative solutions that can positively impact their communities and foster greater support and understanding for care leavers.

Seeing these ideas come to life is deeply rewarding, not just for my fellow care leavers  but for me as well. Whether it’s developing a guidebook on menstrual hygiene or creating a mental health website specifically for care leavers support, or extending emotional support to someone in need at that moment, or organizing get togethers, these projects make a real difference. They are powerful tools for advocating change and influencing policies that can improve the lives of care-experienced youth across India and beyond. With the community of care leavers locally and globally that I am today connected with, I aim to do more than solve problems; I stand  dedicated to empowering them to see themselves as care leaders, just like me!. I promise to guide them in reflecting on their abilities and enabling them to contribute to better support systems for the care leavers community. This has helped me find my purpose in life. Supporting them advocating for greater acceptance and ownership in the society as a friend, mentor, and coordinator, I am passionate to support not only the fellows because they are part of the program where I see them part of my work but to also support each care leaver reach their full potential, just like any other child growing up in society and within their own culture.

In doing so, we are creating a supportive family for care leavers, offering them the acceptance and encouragement they have always needed. We are like a guiding light in a dark room, helping them find their way and discover where to seek help. We must be a constant source of support, always ready to extend a hand when their path becomes difficult and their lives seem uncertain. Together, we can be the steadfast presence that helps care leavers navigate their challenges and rebuild their lives, ensuring they never have to face their struggles alone, Because, like my peers from another country said, and I quote, ‘we are the story, we are the change’!