These youngsters are turning their lives around

Nineteen-year-old Shyla sees a huge change in herself in the past year. “I feel I talk only when needed. I do not lose my temper easily. Even others say I have matured.”

Shyla is talking about her experience of living at the Thejomaya After Care Home under the State Nirbhaya Cell of the Women and Child Development department in Ernakulam on the sidelines of a sale and exhibition of products made by them under the brand ‘Uyare’ in the State capital recently.

Like Shyla, 16 other adolescents live at the home where they are provided with vocational training in baking, stitching, and beauty care for a period of one year.

Shyla says that unlike the other child care institutions she has been in, the staff at the Thejomaya home are easy to talk to and very encouraging, urging them to try their hands at new things. “After I failed to clear two subjects in Plus Two, I did not have a sense of direction. All I wanted was to get a job somehow. It is only now that I have started thinking about appearing for Public Service Commission examinations.”

Sameera is doing her on-the-job training in beauty care and feels she can put her training to good use in a beauty salon. Sameera hopes that she will land a job sooner than later because there seems to be immense scope for it. In the long run, she wants to start her own establishment in Ernakulam.

Sreelakshmi V., home manager, Thejomaya home, says that if the one-month on-the-job training is deemed inadequate for a home resident, it is extended by another month. The recently-launched on-the-job training helps the adolescents ease into the demands of working in a professional set-up, preventing dropouts once they are placed in a job. Four adolescents are currently undergoing on-the-job training.

Like Sameera, Rani too is learning the ropes of beauty care. She has learnt baking and stitching but it is beauty care that interests her. Slightly apprehensive of what awaits her during the on-the-job training, she nevertheless wants to get employed, go back home to Kottayam, and take care of her aunt who is her closest relative since her father passed away.

Her closest friend Anna who is very keen on baking. Anna who likes cooking is learning how to make cakes, cookies and other eats as part of her training. She wants to gain some experience and eventually start her own bakery in Kozhikode where she hails from.

Sreelakshmi, the home manager, says all the home residents are provided training in baking, stitching, beauty care, and digital literacy, but focus is given on training in the area they are keen on. If needed, students are provided with remedial education to brush up their basic literacy and numeracy skills.

“Any trauma experienced by the children cannot be forgotten. However, focus is on looking ahead and equipping them to live their life in the best way they can. These adolescents are confident of their skills and going out into the world,” says Sreelakshmi.

(all names changed)