At the age of four Madhavi was lost, literally. She had gone missing from her home. The Hyderabad Police found her wandering in streets but she couldn't tell anything about her parents. When the policemen failed to locate her parents they joined her in a juvenile home at Kachiguda, where she remained till she passed 10th Standard in 2011.
Thereafter, she did not want to continue her studies. She wanted to do a job, but was not aware of how to go about it. Then came a suggestion that she could as well join the “Employment Linked Programme for Orphan Youth” being conducted by Yashoda Charitable Foundation (YCF), the corporate social responsibility (CSR) arm of the city-based Yashoda Hospitals. She agreed.
“After coming here, I have learnt how to use a computer, how to behave, what to do. I have realised that I should study further and that I will be able get a government job if I have higher educational qualifications”, Madhavi said. Now, she is working as a Patient Relation Executive at Yashoda Hospitals drawing a monthly salary of Rs. 9,000.
The story of 19-year-old Vinantha, who hails from Karimnagar district, is slightly different. Her ordeal started when she lost her mother at the age of five. Following her mother's death, her father, who used to work as a mason, got addicted to alcohol. Her father also died when she was in the seventh standard. Her father's younger brother took her into custody but she was ill treated by him.
When a maternal uncle told her about the YCF programme, she joined it. Currently, she is working as tele-marketer at a call centre in the city. “Though my job is enough to sustain my livelihood, I will try for a better job after three months”, she said confidently.
Twenty four-year-old Srinivas is brimming with confidence. He has come a long way from being an agricultural labourer in Devunipadaka village of Mahabubnagar district. He is now a technician with BMW and simultaneously pursuing B. Tech course in a local engineering college.
Not just these three. There are 1,619 other orphans who have so far attended the YCF's programme. Of them, 1,521 persons have been placed in various jobs, while 30 joined long-term academic courses.
A visit to the training centre was quite revealing. Each participant has a different tale of woe to tell, narrating their hardships from childhood - how they had been belittled, humiliated and harassed not only by strangers but also by their own near and dear.
The YCF initially thought of starting an orphanage home. However, when the board members visited various orphanages, they realised that the common problem being faced by the inmates was finding a job once they leave the orphanage - they can't stay in these homes after 18 years.
Hence, an employment linked training programme was started in 2011. The training process starts with imparting “Life skills” such as self-confidence, positive thinking, communication skills, team building, decision-making, time and money management, psychiatric counselling and personality development.
Participants are also taught to face interviews, communicate in English and use of computers.
Many chose to join the course when they were assured of lodging and boarding for non-locals and transportation charges for local candidates.
Even after the participants are placed in a job, the YCF provides support to them in resolving work place issues.
YCF Chairman G. Ravinder Rao also started “Maa Kutumbam” (our family) of the orphan youth so as to create an organic link among them. And, all participants of the YF programme, both past and present, would get together once in a month as a part of this initiative.
They talk about their life, jobs, problems, aspirations and help each other in resolving their issues, if any. “I now have a family of over 1,000 people”, a beaming participant said.
“Our aim is to make orphans live happily with dignity and honour in our society without any discrimination”, Mr. Rao told The Hindu .
The YCF can be contacted over Phone No. +91 8790361631, or e-mail: arunajyothi.e@yashoda.in
