Roshan was a new boy at the Dongri Observation Home and stood out from everyone else for multiple reasons. Firstly, he was much older than the rest of the children; he was in his mid-twenties. He was also tall and well-built as he was a fitness and workout enthusiast. He also kept himself clean and neat, spoke well and respectfully and behaved very maturely. Over time, we got to know that he was at Dongri for a case under the POCSO Act (Protection of Children from Sexual Offences Act). However, this case was registered recently for an incident that happened many years back. Initially, he was taken to an adult prison, but then he was transferred to Dongri when they got to know that he was under 18 during the claimed date of the incident. As he was much older and had been transferred from an adult jail, there was a sense of concern initially that he shouldn’t negatively influence the other children at Dongri or harm them in any way, especially from certain members associated with the court. However, soon enough, we realized that it was the contrary, he was very well mannered and started mentoring the other children and guiding them in the right ways to support their journeys. In fact, he was well educated and also held a well paying job before this case and had a good understanding of work ethics, the corporate world and other aspects of life.
Soon enough, we started interacting with him more regularly and he was also a part of our sessions. He had a positive mindset and was looking to learn new things while he was at Dongri, and use his time effectively. He also had a sense of gratitude for the resources and facilities available at Dongri, especially as compared to the jail situation. As we discussed further, he showed interest in learning computer skills. So we decided to start taking 1 hour sessions with him every afternoon. We also discussed with him if he would be open to conducting a session for the rest of the children, and he readily accepted it. Since he had a strong background and good understanding of the workplace, we decided that he can take the session on workplace etiquette. He could talk about communication skills, dressing sense, self grooming, importance of our language and behavior and other aspects of working at any reputed institution. This is also a major area that many of the other children at Dongri lack, and struggle with when they start searching for a job.
So Karan started taking computer sessions with him. He taught him Google Sheets, Google Forms and Canva. The first two were important for him as those tools would be handy at a job, especially the company he was working at. Canva was also a handy tool, especially in today’s time and we decided that he can learn while creating a presentation for his session on ‘Workplace Etiquettes’. He was very quick in grasping the new tools and applying them. Soon enough, he was ready with the presentation and started rehearsing how to deliver it.
On the day of the session, Karan introduced the session and shared that Roshan will be taking the session that day. The other children were surprised but there was a sense of anticipation and excitement in them. During the session, he used his slides effectively and shared from his personal experience. He touched upon various topics and covered them well, giving a good overview of workplace etiquettes. Interestingly, during this session, one of the Probation Officers also came unexpectedly, and sat through the session. She and the other children asked many questions to Roshan and he answered them very well. He gave practical and honest answers and with simplicity and humility. Everyone appreciated him including the Probation Officer and other teachers, and he had a renewed sense of confidence and joy.
He was at the Dongri Observation Home for a relatively short time, after which he was again moved to the adult jail, as there was a change in the statement and his age was shown to be above 18 at the time of the incident. Based on our conversations with him, it seemed that apparently it was a false case. Allegedly, he was wrongly accused. We are not the judiciary and we are not aware of all the facts, however, it breaks our heart to know that quite often, false POCSO cases are registered against boys and that often de-rails their and their family’s lives completely.
In the short time that Roshan was at Dongri, we built a good connection with him and were able to support him to keep his spirits high and help him stay on the path of righteousness and serve others.
