It is said that you can see God in kids as their souls are pure, says Kajal Singh Rajput, the founder of Unseen Happiness, a group of young philanthropists who work for the children of various orphanages. The group believes that every child deserves a better upbringing. It works to bring the unseen happiness in children to the fore. It also wants to bring happiness into the lives of senior citizens living in old age homes.
Ahead of Children’s Day, Sunday POST spoke to some of the group members who are on a mission to bring smiles to the lips of children.
“Everyone has the right to lead a life of happiness,” says Kajal. “So, the team decided to work towards bringing joy in the lives of orphans. Children’s smiles are so infectious that I often want to go back to my childhood and be a child again. A couple of years back, I decided to share some happy moments with the kids at the orphanages who have no one to share their sorrows and happiness with. Thereafter, we formed a group called Unseen Happiness through which we could reach out to the kids. We feel pain when we see kids working on the streets or in restaurants when they should be in school. It’s not possible to meet the aspiration of every child but we are trying our best to reach as many as possible.”
Kajal was inspired by Remo D’Souza, one of the well-known choreographers in Bollywood, as he donates half of his earnings to an orphanage to ensure a better future for the kids. Similarly, she draws inspiration from Ravi Patel of RPC Dance Academy of Mumbai who is also known for donating his income for the cause of slum and street children.
The members of Unseen Happiness belong to different professions and do not depend on sponsors or donations to carry out their benevolent work. Instead, they cut their own expenditure whenever they can and use the money to help the kids.
The group began from Adruta, a childcare home in Cuttack. “We took some sports gear with us when we visited Adruta as I had asked about the requirements of the kids earlier. We spent some quality time with the 16 children there. We have also visited Daya Ashram and Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Child Care Trust, Cuttack on several occasions. We celebrated Teacher’s Day at Daya Ashram. At that time, we took food for the kids and sarees for the teachers. We gifted music systems, study materials and game equipment to the kids at Kasturba Gandhi National Memorial Childcare Trust. Now we are planning to expand our activities, including taking up a plantation project to create awareness on environment,” adds Kajal.
A robotics engineer by profession, Umesh Ranjan Nayak, a member of the group, says, “I heard about Unseen Happiness from my friend. Impressed by their activities, I joined them. It gives me immense pleasure to work in a team like this. I always feel that unless we support these orphan kids, they would either turn to crime or be sold off as child labourers. The group is working selflessly, and I am trying to devote more time to its activities.”
Another member Biswajit Garabadu, a singer from Bhubaneswar, says, “NGOs play a critical role in the development of society, educating communities and promoting citizens’ participation. While going through my FB page once, I saw a post by Kajal and was impressed by her initiatives. I decided then to join her group Unseen Happiness. Working for Unseen Happiness has given me the opportunity to help the disadvantaged. I get a chance to share my skills, learn new skills and gain experience.”
Sunil Kumar Meher, a businessman, feels blessed to be a part of Unseen Happiness. He says, “NGOs are usually funded by donors, but this group is run by personal contributions. I feel it is better to work for orphans than for a profit-making organisation, as I can make a positive contribution to the development of the society.”
Another active member of the group Rashmi Ranjan Mohanty says that he wishes to do something for the betterment of the society. “It is not a full-time job for us. But the satisfaction we get by spending a little time with the kids is incomparable. Besides, a strong bond exists between the group members and we help each other in all possible ways. We are not spending a huge amount. But whatever we spend is for a noble purpose.”
Sanjay Kumar Behera, Assistant Professor in the Department of ENT at AIIMS, Bhubaneswar, says that it is sometimes hard to make someone smile, but it is satisfying when you succeed. “Unseen Happiness is doing a fabulous job by bringing the smiles back on the lips of underprivileged kids. I am connected with this group though I have not met all the members. They are doing a good job and I hope to extend my support whenever they need me.”
BRATATI BARAL, OP