Life has been a roller coaster for me. When I turned 6, my mother died in an illness. The responsibility of bringing up me and my elder brother fell on my father. But he could not bear the loss of my mother and ran away leaving us with our old and ailing grandfather. My brother and I were almost uncared for. Then one day our grandfather brought us to SOS Children’s Village Bhimtal. We were fearful at the prospect of living away from our biological family.

But my SOS mother Ganga greeted me and my brother lovingly. She gave me a warm hug and introduced me to my new SOS brothers and sisters. I felt at home after a long time and started crying but this time it was with joy. We were a total of eight brothers and sisters in the family. My own brother was also in the same house. One of my first memories is about my mother feeding me rice and dal. The love with which she served food perhaps made it more delicious.

My SOS mother was a caring and loving person. She could somehow feel the trauma I had been through. She would spend long hours with me, telling stories and encouraging me. Gradually, I started opening up and began interacting with other children in the village. In the evenings, I played with them; skipping and badminton were my favourites.

Over the years I started doing well at my school. It was surely because of the motivation on my mother’s part and the help I got from my SOS brothers and sisters. In the year 2002, I passed class 12 and went to Nainital for higher education. After completing masters in Commerce I started working with ICICI Bank. My elder brothers and sisters who by now were fairly independent guided me to pursue MBA through distance learning. This proved beneficial and I got a better opportunity.

Today, I work with Axis Bank as an Assistant Manager in Sitarganj Branch in Rudarpur. I am very happy and thankful to SOS Children’s Villages for giving me a loving home and a bright future.

Hansa received love and care that a child needs to blossom into a responsible adult. Contributions from donors like you helped us in giving her a happy childhood and secure future.