Since childhood, I have admired people who connect with people beyond their family members. My father used to take me walking every day. We went both to the slums and to areas with big villas. He tried to show me how happiness is hardly dependent on money. He encouraged me to think and explore, and to have my own opinion. He is the person who helped me discover that every human being is loving, and that what people encounters during their lives will contribute to who they become.

Believing in this was not easy for me as I also experienced the dark side of the human nature I was sexually assaulted by my teacher and harassed by a close relative. Despite my father’s positive influence, this completely shattered my belief system. This phase of trauma went on for a few years. However, spirituality helped me to channel this trauma to once again be able to feel love towards other people.

During this journey of self-exploration, I delved into various professions, and ultimately choose the social sector since it touches upon every aspect of human life and would help me to grow as an individual. I am now working with women and children development projects with an NGO in India.

I have travelled widely and I am happy that national boundaries are only noticeable when I am applying for visas.  I have felt at home in every corner of the world that I have visited and with every human being I have encountered, irrespective of their religion, color, language, traditions and culture.

I have realized that life is a combination of events; a combination of what I dream, what I want, what I work for, what I never want, what I never knew and even what I could not control.

Though I don’t have control over events, I can always choose to live. I want to continue to advocate for the unity of humankind through education in open classrooms encouraging rational thought process in children. I want to enhance the skill sets of women and youth, to spread the vitality of keeping oneself productively engaged.