Hearts behind the Foundation: Simran Sagar
January 23, 2021 | Contributed by Simran Sagar
With a beneficiary’s family at Amrita Institute of Medical Science, Kerala.
“You choose your family subconsciously..the karmic cycle. They are here to teach you, just as much as you are there to teach them. A perfectly chosen union by the Higher powers.”
Being Prema and Jyoti’s daughter, I have been brought up in a household where the whole concept of giving and being grateful was inculcated in me from a very young age. In fact, the most constant memory I have is seeing my parents helping the lesser privileged, those who did not have the means, or those who didn’t have the money.
Moreover, I have always visited Missionaries of Charity with my parents and began the same with my daughter once I became a parent. And maybe I didn’t understand as much as a young child, but that time spent with the lesser privileged who don’t have much but find happiness in what they have, has been a life lesson for me.
We are always longing for more, unsatisfied, I have seen that people who have half of what we are privileged with, make do much better, that too with smiles on their faces.
Joining Genesis Foundation
Graduating with a BA Honours in Theatre, joining a children heart foundation was not exactly an ambition of mine. I started my career working in the Communications field and eventually found my way back to India.
Interacting with a child post-surgery
at Max Hospital, Saket.
Soon after that I got married, had my daughter, and began to get more exposed to the work that the Foundation was doing. GF has been my mother’s baby so naturally, I knew about it, but I wasn’t emotionally invested in it until I joined in 2016.
It all began with writing content for the Foundation and at other times visiting the hospitals, seeing the children, meeting the parents. Being a single parent with a young child, that was all I could manage at the time.
During each visit my heart opened that little bit more as I shed tears, and I can tell you MANY tears as I felt the pain and fear of each parent or the happiness and gratitude they expressed.
Naturally, this made me emotionally more invested in the children heart Foundation for the simple reason that I don’t believe in any kind of discrimination or the tags that this society gives us, like rich or poor. I firmly believe that we are all one, we are all humans, we are born with what we have, and it’s up to us to do whatever good we possibly can.
Meeting another beneficiary of the Foundation- Anjali, and her family at their village in Haryana.
My Journey
I have been very blessed throughout my childhood, but my parents ensured that I was well aware of the people in our country who are not, especially those who have to struggle for the things that come naturally to most of us. It has made me even more grateful for what we have.
Those of us who are born with a little more privilege, with more accessibility to finance can have a more comfortable lifestyle. Money surely doesn’t buy happiness, but it buys comfort, options, and choices, but for people who don’t have that access, there is no choice except to struggle. Because of my own spiritual growth in the last few years, I have begun to feel more for families like that.
At the Foundation we say “life precedes everything” as access to healthcare is a basic right.
Having said that, I understand it’s not a direct help, where I’m actually doing a surgery, but I believe that every choice we make in life, contributes to a larger movement. It contributes to a mindset towards changing someone’s life, whether they’re aware of it or not.
So, in my current role managing the Operations, even that indirect support is helping that one family to get access to what they need. Just being able to sleep with that thought, it brings me peace and happiness, I feel fulfilled. I don’t feel like it’s a mundane job where I’m working for the sake of working. I feel like there is a larger picture and anything that fills my soul with that kind of happiness and contentment, I will commit to give my everything to.
So all those years of me growing up and seeing how important it is to give back, it all makes sense now, it has an effect on how I’m bringing up my daughter. It brings me joy to know that I’m doing work that I can talk to my daughter about with pride. And I’m really happy that I’m able to expose her to something like this at a very young age, quite similar to what my parents did for me.
Why I do what I do
Me at 10-months, with my father and our
dog Benji.
I was adopted from Missionaries of Charity, and I have been blessed with parents who have done for me more than I could ever wish for in this lifetime or many lifetimes after. The Higher Powers ensured that we chose each other and I couldn’t be more grateful to spend each day knowing they are mine and they have brought me up to give back, with my whole heart.
I want to do what I can to ensure every family has a fair chance with their child, simple.
My birth mother surrendered me to give me a chance…. Similary, we give a chance to each child we support. The gift of life… and the chance to thrive! I don’t know who she is – and she could be anyone. That’s where the boundary between me and another person lesser privileged broke. Everyone is equal. All judgement stripped away. The Foundation gives ME the CHANCE every single day to make that family feel that there is no divide between them and us, their child is as deserving as ours.
That is why I do what I do for the Foundation, because there’s heart in it, there’s soul in it, there’s emotion in it, it’s people-centric and nothing else could bring me more joy. And leading Genesis Foundation, is life coming full circle for me.
