A journalism postgraduate from Amity University who wanted to be a journalist and was even placed at IBM; she had her own office and would juggle her father’s business. But there was something she had been missing out on in her life for a long time, something she wanted to do not just to do it, but to learn and grow more. She returned to college to complete her master’s degree. She considered doing it in the same field but ultimately decided on Social Work. A postgraduate wanted to pursue another master’s degree, this time in social work; this is where her life began to alter.
A Single Story To Inspire Many –
Ritu was enjoying the MSW phases and could sense a much different work climate during her field visits. Until one day, when she was performing a play about the law, protection of children from sexual abuse.
This law is only intended for children, in order to have quicker and better judgments, as children are harmed at a far higher rate than adults in the countries. The law went into effect in 2012. In 2016, they were working on the application and knowledge of the same rule, where they taught the children about the good touch, the bad touch, and how to detect if they are or have been abused. While a 12-year-old girl approached her and cried, the small girl told how she went through the things Ritu mentioned in the skit. And she asked whether she could help this little kid in any way. That was the moment Ritu realised she didn’t want to change the world in a single day, nor did she want to transform India in a single day. Her primary goal now was to work as much as possible in the subject in order to affect cultural change in the long run, and she immediately began studying seriously the next day. She took the time to learn about the operation and genuinely assisted the girl.
The Challenge to the Pandemic –
Despite the fact that Ritu and her team had previously worked in several sectors such as the environment, women, children, and livelihood. During the lockdown, however, when delivering food packets to those in need and those who had lost their employment, she realised how the pandemic and the lockdown had effectively ended the lives of most vendors and small businesspeople. She realised that the post-pandemic time would not be as beneficial as it appears. People had been hesitant to dine from street sellers or possibly at street shops due to their concerns about hygiene. And that’s when she realised that simply distributing food packs wouldn’t be enough. Rather, we need to devise a programme that will allow these people to manage their credibility in the long run.
Ritu realised that the most crucial item to start a project would be funding while intending to start one. After that, she began working with people across the country in Baxter, and she also applied for the project for socio-economic development, which would not only generate income but also register the poorer or less educated strata with government schemes and policies.
Ritu has a wealth of expertise, plans, and a sense of connection to the job she does or will do after working in the development sector for the previous 40 years. As a result, tapping the community, connecting with them, and moving the project ahead was not a problem for her or the team. Rather, in order to get more people involved in the project this time, they decided to include something that would appeal to the masses. This turned out to be a way of engaging community members with government initiatives and bridging the gap between the strata and government schemes. Even while the language barrier could have been a factor in Ritu’s inability to make the necessary connections in the community, Ritu possessed exceptional language skills. She spoke to these individuals in their own native/local languages, which helped her connect with the women and children there. As a result, even throughout the pandemic, the only issue she faced was a lack of financing.
Even connecting the impoverished to larger corporations has been a wonderful opportunity for Ritu to generate income for women in particular. Connecting with the ladies, learning about their challenges, and then training them in the appropriate field so that they may work for the required companies has been the method.
The Silver Lining –
Ritu sees herself in five years upskilling her initiatives as much as she can, reaching out to more and more remote areas, and lobbying for environmental controls since sustainable development is the need of the hour.
A lady with such a strong vision that even the odds bend to her every time she insists on doing something. A woman who is outspoken about a variety of subjects that no one wants to discuss. And a lady who is driven to make a difference. That’s Ritu Jain for all of you.
