In conversation with Ms. Jyoti Uplenchwar.
Presently, Vice-Chairperson of Snehi – a Delhi-based non-profit registered organization.
Educational background: B.Sc in Home-Science. MBA in Marketing.
It was by a sheer chance that I met Jyoti Uplenchwar. She was visiting Dubai and we were celebrating my birthday at her son, Amit’s place. The energy of the long-lasting evening was an ethos of warmth and glee. In the flow of things, Jyoti enquired from me about my interests in life and she told me what she was doing. Commonly, we hit upon the subjects of children, education, the under-privileged. Logically to follow was: Snehi. Derived from the Hindi word ‘Sneh’, meaning: Love... Snehi is all about love and loving.
From a tender age, Jyoti’s character was such where she never missed to share her portions of delights (dry-fruits, chocolates) with the cook’s and the gardener’s families. Later in life, the same small child was to respond to her growing inner-call by reconstructing the lives of run-away-from-home-children. The solutions suggested in presenting herself regularly at the railway stations, where these kids ended up in modes of despair, confusion, and further suffering. Jyoti is perfectly capable of showing the fervour for her social-service-activities. And why not? She firmly believes that the best way of repaying back to society is by treating human being as human beings. She also feels that finally all this adds up in giving the ‘giver’ greater dimensions for his own well-being. That is why, I guess, she strives for self-realization. Considering that all this took Jyoti hours away from her home and family – for the Uplenchwars, it has been an expanded survey of good spirit and unity. One could observe a definite emphasis of the same in the mother and son. To say the least, the pictorial flow of the entire evening gave that fragrance.
Q 1. What has been the turning point of your life? A. The realization of trusted friends turning their face away at the time of a critical juncture; coming out of this experience; growing and getting over petty things. I could consider this as a turning point in my life.
Q 2. If you could go back in time, what would you want to do? A. I love adventure. I would climb Mount Everest and do all sorts of crazy things.
Q 3. What are your future dreams? A. A tough question. I strive for self-realization. I strive to accomplish my role as a helper to mankind, where I can assist people to live a more fulfilled and a satisfied life.
About Snehi: The organization gives Psycho-Social support to children, especially-run-away-from-home children. It was established on the 12th of October, 1994 by a group of individuals who were sensitive towards the rise of mental health problems in the community and were keen to provide services to meet this rising demand. Snehi was registered as a voluntary organization in April 1996. Snehi primarily focuses on addressing the emotional and mental health needs of the community and provides psychological counseling and support to people in crisis – particularly victims of abuse, violence and trauma. Since its inception, with the support of hundreds of professional and student volunteers, donors and sympathizers from different walks of life, Snehi has managed to reach out to more than 92,507 individuals in distress and has helped them through its counseling and referral services. Snehi works to promote the psychosocial well-being and positive mental health of children, adolescents and families irrespective of their socio-economic status, caste and creed. It focuses mainly on empowering them to be more productive in order to have a better life and nurtures their overall development and health i.e. physical, psychological and social. The organization endeavors to educate people to develop the capacity to take care of their own psychological well-being and mental health, and in turn reach out and touch the lives of others around them. Snehi works to ensure that people with psychosocial and mental disabilities are able to live in the community with dignity and participate in society with respect.
For further information, check website:www.snehi.org
It was by a sheer chance that I met Jyoti Uplenchwar. She was visiting Dubai and we were celebrating my birthday at her son, Amit’s place. The energy of the long-lasting evening was an ethos of warmth and glee. In the flow of things, Jyoti enquired from me about my interests in life and she told me what she was doing. Commonly, we hit upon the subjects of children, education, the under-privileged. Logically to follow was: Snehi. Derived from the Hindi word ‘Sneh’, meaning: Love... Snehi is all about love and loving.