In my first year, as a part of DAP, I worked for 6 weeks with an organization called ‘Hogar de las Bienaventuranzas’ based in Lima, Peru. This organization was founded in 2007 with the purpose of providing residential, nutritional, educational and psychological support to mentally and physically disabled individuals that had been abandoned by their families. As of 2019, the organization housed 124 residents- all the way from 9–10 month-old babies to 80+ year olds.

As a volunteer, I was working for 12 hours, 5 days a week. My day started at 7.30 in the morning and ended at 7.30 in the night. In between, I took up several activities that can be broadly categorized into two:
First, everyday tasks such as cooking, cleaning, washing utensils, and feeding residents.
Second, more specific tasks such as assisting the caretakers with various forms of art therapy for the residents, devising plans for new innovative activities, organizing field visits, helping the residents with basic hygiene maintenance and providing assistance for any other activity as and when required.

Through this experience, I collected innumerable memories and gained invaluable learnings that I find difficult to condense into a few paragraphs. Nevertheless, these have played a crucial role in shaping me into the person I am today. These 6 weeks gave me a chance to reflect on my life, and understand the myriad of ways in which our lives are connected with the people across the world. It was not always easy, but it was important.