Aruna Marandi

Village Director at SOS Children's Village Raipur, SOS Children's Villages India

The power of determination: a story about trust and cooperation

It was the winter of January 2013 when I ̶ with a nine-month-old daughter in one hand and pulling a trolley suitcase with the other ̶ stepped onto the premises of SOS Children’s Village Bhubaneswar, India. When I looked around, the environment was happy and lively with the chirping of children playing in groups. Seeing this, I had a mixture of feelings. I was happy and wanted to be part of their lives. But never having worked with children, I was scared inside too.  

Initial phase 
Within a very short time I became a part of the SOS family. In the role of Assistant Director, I was accepted by the co-workers and SOS mothers and, before I realised it, I already had so many children calling me aunty and some even mummy. Being the First Instant Person (FIP) as per the Child Protection Policy and rolling out the child protection sessions for all age groups ̶ starting from the youngest up to 23-year-olds ̶ helped me create a strong bond with each of the children and young people. The sessions on POCSO (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act) and CPP (Child Protection Policy), and alternative methods of discipline gave me an opportunity to be closer to the SOS mothers. I used to have weekly meetings where we discussed matters relating to child development, innovative ideas and happenings in the development sectors and even personal matters with all the co-workers (mothers and administrative and support staff helping mothers to attend to the developmental needs of the children). The continuous involvement got me absorbed in the lives of each member of the SOS Children’s Village Bhubaneswar family. 

Sudden setback 
Everything was going on in a very smooth and vibrant way, when tragedy struck me at the end of August 2015: my husband passed away. It was devastating! I did not know what to do and I went on leave for a month.  

At the end of September I returned. Soon after I was told that in November we would be having the silver jubilee celebration of the Village. The director called a meeting to discuss the preparations to be done. I was lifeless, hopeless and clueless. Nevertheless, the Village Director announced that, apart from the silver jubilee celebration, there would be the national board members’ meeting, a press conference, the inauguration of the photo gallery and, on the final day, the chief guest would be the Chief Minister of the State.  

And the Village Director would not be available for the last 12 days before the date of the celebration, as he would have to attend the annual co-workers meeting to be held in Delhi. So ̶ given at my current personal situation ̶ the Deputy National Director would send an assistant director from another village to come and help in the preparation of the event.  

Now this was a wake-up call for me. All of sudden I felt, “Am I so visibly vulnerable and useless that someone else has to be called in to get the job done?” I immediately told my Village Director that I could take on the responsibility on my own and no one need be sent.  

The hope 
Fortunately, the Village Director as well as the deputy national director showed trust and faith in me and decided to let me take on responsibility for organising the event. That was THE MOMENT which instilled in me the feeling that the organisation had faith and trust in me. Now I just had to prove that they were right. That brought me out of the shell I had retreated into.  

The action 
The plan of action started with taking over the preparation list from the Village Director. Since the village was 25 years old, some of the co-workers who had been working there from the start were a little demotivated and dissatisfied for their own reasons. Nevertheless, they knew their work really well and were an asset to the organisation due to their knowledge and experience. Identifying people who felt unrecognised and were low on will but high on competency, I adopted a democratic approach by showing them the to-do list and asking who would pick up what. I assigned them responsibilities accordingly and made them understand it was an opportunity to prove themselves. Having already bonded with older children, I involved them in the process and assigned them responsibilities like contacting their older settled siblings to provide testimony during the event. Older co-workers had a treasure of memories in the form of stories and photographs. They were most useful for the photo gallery. The maintenance workers were already working hard to beautify the buildings and the gardens through minor renovations, installations and new plantings. Everyone took it as a challenge and supported each other to get the things done. Mothers provided meals for co-workers who did not get time to even go home. I had to ensure that all the prominent guests were invited well in advance. An environment full of energy and positive pandemonium developed in the village. Everyone took their responsibility seriously and no one needed reminders. As the final day approached, everyone was anxious and continued with the finishing touches. Everyone wanted the event to be the best possible as all felt as though the onus of the success of the event lay with them. All felt responsible and all were leaders of their assigned tasks ̶ they had actually created several sub-teams consisting of other co-workers, mothers and children. It was amazing to see the vitality that was becoming contagious. We had a final meeting to tick off our checklist.  

Silver Jubilee 
Finally, the day before the final celebration, guests from the national office and board members from around the country started arriving. By then we had ensured that everything was in place. The Silver Jubilee day finally arrived. Since morning, there had been a different kind of aroma in the air and a positive vibe. The event started as planned. After that, there was no time to reflect, it was all action. The older girls did a great job of hosting the event. The Minister came in as the chief guest. The testimony given by settled youths was a living example of what SOS does for the guests to witness. The photo gallery was a walk down memory lane. And who would have been a better anchor for the show than the oldest co-worker? The passion and affection for the children and job was visible through the way they talked. The schedule provided for the acceptance speech by me at the end of the programme. I took this opportunity to thank each and every person from the SOS Children’s Village Bhubaneswar family for their contribution to making the day a success. 

That night all the co-workers sat together at dinner. We were all exhausted but, more than that, happy to have successfully convened the event. Finally, by 12.30 am all the guests had been seen off. Next day appreciation poured in from all corners, which was the most beautiful reward for our efforts.  

The “take away” 
This event was a life changer for me, and for other older co-workers it was the restoration of lost passion. For me, there had been a moment when I thought of giving up everything. But the faith and trust shown by the seniors, the cooperation of my colleagues and the revival of zeal among the co-workers who had been demotivated gave new life to them and the whole village. It was all possible because for the whole team the motto was, “United we stand, divided we fall”. But for me it was “Where there is a will, there is a way”. 

Being on the Village campus, being woken up by the children for their daily jog and a round of volleyball, followed by her duties as Village Director and talking to mothers, staff and stakeholders are all part of Aruna's daily routine. But she wouldn't call it work when you enjoy being with children and are getting paid for it. In these eight years at the SOS Children's Village, Aruna has gained more than she has given because, for her, children are the best teachers and have the power to heal. 

Being the youngest of four siblings, she was the most loved: one older sibling took care of her in difficult times. Even though the siblings live in different cities, they have a strong connection and meet up once a year. Right now, she has a happy family: her nine-year-old daughter is her best friend and her mother-in-law their guiding light. 

In her free time, Aruna loves to try out everything heaven has to offer. She is a music lover, loves crooning, enjoys reading and pours out her feelings through her poetry. She adores football and believes that age is just a number! 

Aruna is proud of the rich history and tradition of her home country India, a land of unity in diversity. She loves and enjoys the festivals and colours of each religion and culture.