The determined idealism that had earlier driven my mission at the Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM) has been replaced by a tempered realism. I had previously worked through pure determination and passion to help the tormented children at the drug rehab centers. I spent my days carefully and painstakingly compiling all of my observations and notes on life at the rehabilitation centers into the new standard operating procedures (SOPs). I wanted to fix every problem, help every child, and get the new SOPs fully drafted and implemented through my hard work, no matter what obstacles were in my way.

However, now that it is time to actually put the procedures into place, the realities of trying to bring about change in the real world have hit me with full force. The reality is that the implementation of the new SOP’s poses challenges that I simply cannot overcome in the short span of one summer.

An daily schedule in implementation at one of the SPYM centers.

Many of the important fixes I suggested are not possible due to factors beyond my control. SPYM’s meager funding is not enough to pay for full time psychiatrists at the centers. Many staff are unable or unwilling to save files on computer software—this was not part of their native work culture. Proposals to mitigate the transfer of children from the centers to government hospitals get hopelessly stuck in complex political webs. Overall, the stigma around juvenile drug abuse makes it extremely difficult to move large scale operations forward in a short period of time. I now realize that it will take months, perhaps years, before the new SOPs can be fully implemented. No matter how hard I toil, this project will not reach full completion in one mere summer in Delhi.

Drawings done by some of the children at the SPYM centers.

This troubling realization left me distressed and severely questioning my purpose. Yesterday, I decided to speak with some more experienced SPYM interns for help. They have known the frustrations of this job much longer than I have, and through their advice I managed to make sense of the dilemma.

I see now that in my role as a summer intern, I am not expected to solve the deep-rooted problems plaguing these children and this organization. In fact, it is counterproductive to blindly labor to fulfill something beyond my reach. Instead, I have to accept my limitations and work productively within them. I am only an intern here for two months, and I have to re-evaluate my expectations for the summer. I might not be able to implement the new SOPs, but I can work hard to draft them and get them ready for the next phase. This task may be small, but it is an essential step towards fixing the bigger issues at the organization.  If I am overwhelmed by the burden of implementation to fix the wide-scale problems right now, there is no way I can get that smaller job done. I have to accept my limitations, adjust my goals, and understand that aiming for less right now will accomplish more in the long run. This is a difficult lesson for me to take in, but it will be crucial for the rest of my time here in India.

I have spent the last few days working with underprivileged young children and witnessing the horrors that they go through both in their daily lives and amidst their struggle to overcome substance abuse. Witnessing these young kids fight to overcome troubled backgrounds, debilitating addictions, and suffocating stigma has moved me immensely. I have come to care intensely for these youth and wish to do whatever is in my power to help alleviate their plight.

Various decorations done by the children at the centers.

Now that I have started work on my project, I have gotten a better understanding of the true impact my summer task of re-drafting and re-implementing standard operating procedures (SOPs) might have. Thanks to recent political and financial disruptions, the Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM) centers have seen their daily operations fall into disarray, often to the detriment of these children’s development. A good deal of basic protocol needs to be rethought and restructured, and that is where I come into the picture. If the new SOPs are detailed and comprehensive enough, they will have the potential to drastically increase the quality of life at the centers upon implementation.

A specific butterfly art piece completed by children at the centers.

I am confident in my ability to get this job done and completed by the end of the summer. I now have four solid weeks of exposure to SPYM under my belt, which I can combine with my own perspectives from my experiences working in healthcare environments in the United States. Whatever major problems SPYM faces, I want to help fix them. For every child who I have seen at the drug centers, I want to help reach them. There is truly a fiery resolve in me to get these new SOP’s fully drafted and implemented before I leave India.

Ever since my first visit to one of the Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses’ (SPYM’s) juvenile drug rehabilitation centers, the same question has incessantly passed through my head- how on earth can children so young and endearing end up as recovering drug addicts?

Now that I have visited the centers numerous times, I recognize that this awful situation arises from the troubling backgrounds that haunt many of these children. Some originate from financially struggling families who cannot afford three square meals a day. Some have parents who themselves are ravaged by alcoholism and substance abuse. Some are orphans who were found fending for themselves on the streets. Drugs start out as a curious experiment for these kids to try, and with minds and bodies so young and unprepared, they soon become ensnared in vicious cycles of addiction.

Thanks to the immense stigma surrounding drug abuse that is present in India, these children find it next to impossible to get the aid and solace necessary to break free from their addictions. In a similar manner to how LGBT members in India struggle to have their voices heard, these children are too often viewed with apprehension and fear. This mentality further alienates these kids and pushes them even deeper into addiction. Alcohol and drugs are an escape—somewhere they can go to block out the arduous challenges inherent in their daily lives. There are desperately few places in India that offer these youth true understanding and support (the SPYM centers, thankfully, are attempting to do just that).

A rough and fading wall inscription at one of the centers.

The most troubling aspect of this realization is that I have been to India numerous times before to visit relatives, but had never once noticed this dreadful problem that plagues so many youth. Having remained in the confines of upper middle class life, I could not truly understand the conditions of the less fortunate around me. I certainly cared about them, but remained woefully ignorant of what they actually went through and what I could do to help. It is only now, having made the honest effort to step away from my comfort zone, that I am able to see the harsh realities. In this way, the internship is teaching me the vital importance of actively making the time and effort to expose oneself to the conditions of the underprivileged, regardless of how separate one’s world might be from theirs.

After spending a few days getting used to my bearings, I now have a good idea of exactly what I will be doing this summer. I am interning with the Society for Promotion of Youth and Masses (SPYM), a non-profit promoting social development with a particular focus on combating juvenile drug abuse. My job is to revise and re-implement standard operating procedures (SOPs) at SPYM’s drug rehabilitation centers.

My first visit to one of the rehabilitation centers exposed me to the harsh realities of juvenile drug abuse. The modest center was located alongside a battered and dingy little alleyway. It consisted of no more than three small floors that housed an extremely small rehabilitation staff in charge of supervising almost fifty young boys. As soon as I stepped through the entrance, a group of children rushed over to show me in and wish me good morning. They were small, pleasant looking kids with radiant smiles and cheerful dispositions.

The dusty alleyway near one of the rehabilitation centers.

As I toured the rest of center, I got a glimpse of the other children going about their day. Some were napping and relaxing while others were finishing up their lunch or reading books. There was even a group running around and playing tag, with their shouts of joy and laughter wonderful to hear. To me, these seemed like a group of normal and lively young boys.

The entrance door of one of the rehabilitation centers.

The center’s manager then called me inside his office for a chat and explained how the cheerful children I had just seen were in reality all recovering drug addicts. They had been at the center for anywhere from a few days to a full month, and were all in varying stages of the grueling detoxification and withdrawal process. Due to the severe stigma surrounding the issue of drug abuse in India, these children were often abandoned by their families and turned away from schools (some had not been inside a classroom for years). Many had struggled to trust others and make friends upon arrival at the center, an unfortunate symptom of having been misunderstood and mistreated for so long.

The center is one of the few places these suffering children can go to get help and sympathy. It is only here that their addictions are considered medical problems that can be overcome with treatment and support. The ease at which the manager conveyed these disturbing facts troubled me. He had regularly dealt with such issues for so long that he was partly desensitized to the horror—seeing an alcoholic eight year old is no longer even a surprise for him.

This is juvenile drug abuse in India up close and unrestrained. It is a shocking picture to take in.

Though I was raised in the United States, I am originally from India and regularly go back to visit relatives in the summer. These past visits have all been to the state of Kerala, which is located deep in South India. My current internship, however, is based in the Indian capital city of Delhi, which is in North India. Accordingly, I am exploring a brand new part of India this summer.

After having been in Delhi for a few days, I can confidently say the greatest challenge is adapting to the fiery and unforgiving heat. With each moment spent outside, the bright summer sun relentlessly burns down on my skin. It only takes a brief walk to leave me sweating profusely and taking on copious amounts of water. The environment feels very much like being in a breathless oven, and I marvel at how the resilient locals go about their day in this heat while showing no more than the slightest signs of inconvenience.

A crowded and lively Delhi street

Looking past the scorching blaze, I am drawn to the incredible amount of sheer activity around me. The sidewalks are teeming with masses of people milling about a diverse myriad of shops and stands. The streets are packed to the brim with vehicles honking furiously and speeding past one another. The noise is deafening, and the air thick and heavy with an assortment of pungent smells. This frenzied, energetic backdrop is a world apart from the relative calm and structure of the United States.

The locals of Delhi affectionately call this uproar “organized chaos”, and the closer I look at it, the more I see an inherent beauty in the madness. Despite the commotion, the locals somehow sync their routines to the tumultuous setting and lead happy, productive lives. There is a vibrancy and spirit to everyday proceedings that is simply not present back in the United States. All the different pieces – the flamboyant shops, the hurried cars, and the hordes of people- seem to fit together to create one massive and harmonious city.