February 28, 2018 is nothing less than a red-letter day for Reena Charles for a reason which is close to her heart. Incidentally, this day also happens to be her birthday. Jogging her memory as far back as she can, it has always been a day that filled her with indescribable joy, made her feel super special and on the very top of the world.
It was also on the same day 27 years ago, soon after she had just assumed a job as a teacher in a public school in North Delhi, that she had formed a new habit. At that age, when she was super delighted to unwrap gifts from her family and friends. Since then, one of the first things she always did on her big day was to present Philomena, her mom, a gift that usually was something simple and of daily use. Coming from different places across India, most of them had no roof above their heads and none to look after them. Some of them had only vague memories about the past and of people they had once regarded as their own. The little shelter soon emerged as their lone ray of hope, literally making it ‘Paradise Found’ for each one of them.
Reena, who had joined the Rosary School, Kingsway Camp in 1994 as a teacher, had launched a project for her students with the consent of the school authorities. The initiative, which started in 2000, was called the Ek Ehsaas Project (Realisation). Every child contributed a rupee and handed it over to the class monitor. Every month end, the money collected was used to fund fellow students whose families faced economic challenges. The drive taught several batches of students the importance of having empathy for peers and the immense potential to make a difference in little ways. All of this unconsciously taught them valuable lessons that one would seldom find in textbooks.
Insights gained during her graduation from the St Stephen’s College and 20 years’ experience as a teacher gave her the drive, perspective and confidence to transform herself into a motivational speaker and trainer. She conducted scores of workshops for students and teachers in India and abroad. During those sessions, she shared with them valuable tips on ways to develop a wide array of key skills. Leadership roles came her way when she was offered the post of Headmistress and that of the Principal (School Head), respectively, in the Presidium Group of Schools. Even though her hands full with responsibilities like school administration as well as activities like motivational classes and counseling camps, Reena ensured that the people sheltered at her home for the destitute were not neglected.
By then, since more homeless people had found their way to her Shelter Home, she and her family bought a house in Model Town, Delhi, for which she had to avail a loan, in addition to savings from her stint as School Principal. They moved to the new house and shifted the residents of the rented house to her own home on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border. She also hired the staff required to take care of them.
By then, since more homeless people had found their way to her Shelter Home, she and her family bought a house in Model Town, Delhi, for which she had to avail a loan, in addition to savings from her stint as School Principal. They moved to the new house and shifted the residents of the rented house to her own home on the Delhi-Uttar Pradesh border. She also hired the staff required to take care of them.
In Her Own Words she says ,“Ek Ehsaas Foundation is my life mission. People around me have moulded me into what I am today. While there was no one particular event or incident but a long string of experiences that were mostly wonderful and sometimes painful too. EEF aims to fulfil the hopes, joys and aspirations of people around us. It is guided by the dictum Ehsaas Nahi Toh Kuch Bhi Nahi (Without Realisation, There is Nothing). I envision EEF like a fruit-bearing tree. Nature has two types of plants. Some of them have fruits on the outside, while others have their fruits hidden, for example potatoes, onions and yam etc. Plants in the second category undergo the painful process of being uprooted during harvest. Each one of us must strive to be plants that produce fruits for the society we live in, rather than to let our innate talents and abilities go underused. Of course, fruit-bearing trees are stoned at. That is painful, but still less so when compared to the agony produced by the fate of fruitless plants and lives by the divine power who keeps an account of our deeds.
