A slice of happiness for each

                                       Slice of Happiness: Choti si khushi

                                             “If you want to be happy practise compassion”: The Dalai Lama

Happiness has a different meaning for each individual. However, there is a constant search for it and the more you try to search for it, the more it eludes you. Well, there are some who have succeeded in this search. 

 A bunch of “HAPPY” people who believe that “HAPPINESS BEGETS HAPPINESS”  are living this phenomenon through their NGO “CHHOTI SI KHUSHI”. At this NGO they share a slice of Happiness with everyone who becomes a part of this small family.  

The torchbearer of Chhoti si khushi Seema Joshi   (a corporate professional) and Namita chaudhry (a social activist who shifted from Mumbai to Dwarka) started this journey with a bunch of underprivileged students and a handful of volunteers who took up the task of educating them which is their fundamental right that they are deprived.They started with teaching the kids and women in a small labourer colony at a construction site in Sector 13 of Dwarka. With this objective of promoting literacy amongst children especially girls and women who are forced to give up on their school education, chhoti si khushi kept growing and progressing gradually and reached the strength of 250 children and 50 women before getting recognized and registered officially as an NGO in 2014.  

The task in hand here was not limited to education through books, CSK also focused on the overall growth and development of its members for which various plans & programs were designed and were successfully executed , each focusing on a different skill set to enable them to become self dependent and live a life of dignity. 

The journey

This journey was far from easy for the volunteers as they had to face challenges that needed a resoluteness but had to be dealt with utmost sensitivity like Domestic violence, drug addiction to name a few. With determined minds and collective efforts, the volunteers efficiently pulled their family members out of their crisis situations. Today, they look back and proudly identify them as their milestones.  

In its journey since beginning till now, Choti Si Khushi has set an example of dedication and selfless service to the society. As the name Choti Si Khushi suggests the ‘Happiness’, the organization has been spreading happiness through its dedicated volunteers from the community in Dwarka .There are now about 40 volunteers grooming about 250 children and 50 women.  Today CSK is growing well in terms of strength and in terms of health. The growth and developments of the members of the family is a morale booster for the NGO people. 

Paving way for adult education:

As the child education gained momentum in Choti Is Khushi, the volunteers were finally able to convince the parents for the same too. Seeing their kids learn and groom, they were inspired to take their lives one step ahead by getting themselves enrolled the classes. They are now only too excited to learn about new things, new skills and are ready to adapt themselves for an improved quality life ahead. 

The selfless and dedicated volunteers: 

They say one can never pay a volunteer, because they’re simply priceless. They are the ones truly growing in life because there’s no better way for it than uplifting others.  The dedicated team of volunteers of Choti si Khushi is the strong spine of this organisation and they have been doing their bit thoroughly, no matter how they’re coping in their personal lives. Most of the volunteers are home makers who not only teach but also contribute for the goods and grooming for the children.  Namita Choudhary, Nandita Dubey,Seema Joshi,Ramneet Kaur, Sanjna Sangwan, Divya, Leela Bora, JC Malhotra and many other are there giving their time on regular basis teaching and grooming the kids and their parents .They have students of all age groups from nursery to college going girls. They also provide them some other classes like music, martial arts, art and craft etc depending on the child's requirement. 

Different programmes run by the NGO: 

Little Lamp- 

Little lamp is an initiative by CSK to prepare the kids for school education. The aim of Little Lamp is to work on the weaknesses of the child, where the child needs more help and improvement. The goal is to ensure that the basics are met for the child’s admission in the formal school. However, it doesn’t stop here, the organization ensures, the child gets the admission by helping in whichever way possible.  

Many children have been taking proper education after being trained in the particular programme . Some of them are teaching their juniors too as volunteer in the organisation.

Prayas- 

Prayas is literacy cum empowerment programme for the adults and most of the members benefiting under Prayas programme are the mothers of the students of “The little Lamp”.  Under Prayas programme these ladies are not just given basic education but they are also given training for different skills like  pottery and painting. The products prepared by these women are exhibited at different places by the volunteers and the earnings are distributed among workers to boost their morale. 

Jagriti:

  Under its programme ‘Jagriti’,  Choti si Khushi conducts various awareness workshops in schools where children are apprise on different social issues that are surfacing in today’s times. These workshops are more like open house communication programmes where sensitive yet very crucial subjects like child rights, cyber safety, communication skill , personality development etc are talked about. Also teenage counselling for children at government run schools and at low cost schools is done. Such workshops are run throughout the year by the NGO.

Apart from education and personality development and literacy programmes, Choti Si Khushi organises fun and entertainment for the children and women. All the festivals like Holi, Diwali, Christmas, Eid etc is celebrated by the volunteers and the children together with much pomp. All of this and much more is done to boost the morale of the kids of this NGO to spread smiles among them. 

It is truly beautiful to see what we can achieve when helping each other..Happiness for all. When you seek it for yourself, it cannot be found but when you give it to others, it’ll find its way back to you.