During her final year as a B.B.A. student, Ruchita Gauns used to notice an elderly neighbor pass her house daily without wearing any footwear. Struck by the plight of this elderly woman who was forced to roam barefoot despite having grown-up children, Ruchita felt compelled to take up social work to strive for the development of the people in her village.
“Social work is about the enthusiasm and willingness to help others. It requires practical knowledge rather than theoretical,” says Ruchita Gauns.
Ruchita is definitely both enthusiastic and willing to offer a helping hand to those in need. When a friend approached her with a problem, Ruchita went out of the way to offer assistance.
Her friend got married at a young age and soon suffered a miscarriage. After some time, her husband started to beat her regularly, sometimes after going on a drinking spree. After a few months the girl became pregnant again. Battered by months of beating she left for her uncle’s place without informing her husband. Her uncle then informed the girl’s brother who took her in. She eventually delivered the child in her brother’s house. Her brother made numerous attempts to contact her husband before the delivery but he never answered the calls. After she gave birth, her brother took her to her husband’s house. But her husband denied her entry, refused to accept the child as his and heaped blame on her.
The girl confided her entire story to Ruchita who then asked an advocate for advice. The advocate suggested filing a domestic violence case against the husband. Thus, the girl filed a case at the Block Development Office (BDO) in her area. A call summoning both the husband and wife for enquiry was made and both appeared on the said date. The girl’s husband was ready to take her home, but she refused because of her child. The girl then told the officer to forward the case to court.
Ruchita researched online to better equip herself to help her friend. From the internet she learned about free legal aid as a constitutional provision where legal services are provided free of cost to those unable to afford an advocate to fight a case. Coincidentally around the same time, Ruchita attended a tree plantation program in Margao where the chief guest was a judge. She approached the judge to enquire about the process of applying for free legal aid and was ultimately able to use this provision to help her friend obtain the services of an advocate for free.
Ruchita claims that the knowledge she acquired from studying law as a Master of Social Work student enabled her to better understand the Domestic Violence Act as well as the process of filing a case which she then used to assist her friend.
The case is still going on in court and Ruchita accompanies her friend to all hearings to offer moral support.
Ruchita’s message to women who suffer in silence is, “If you’re a victim of domestic violence, don’t keep quiet. There is an Act to protect you.” Indeed her actions are an inspiration to women to stand for themselves and fight for their rights.
Ruchita is involved with other initiatives as well. She is an active member of the Nehru Yuva Kendra (South Goa), which works towards the development of rural youth. As a part of this organization, Ruchita organised tailoring classes for youth in her village Bhumika Nagar located in the Dharbandora taluka. She also coordinated a Youth Week in the same village where talks were given on health, voting and cashless transactions. She took part in a five day National Integration Camp in November, 2016 held at Ravindra Bhavan, Sankhali which saw participants from various states of India.
Ruchita has a talent for acting and uses it to raise awareness on issues such as voting and drug abuse through street plays. She also participates in one-act plays.
Ruchita believes that social work has a wide scope. “However, many people especially in rural areas are not aware of social work,” she adds. Thus, it is necessary to raise awareness of social work as a career option.
Ruchita’s aim is to open a youth club in her village to harness local talent and equip youth with necessary training and skills to participate in various programs and competitions all over Goa. This passionate youngster definitely strives for the progress of the people in her village and is always ready to lend a helping hand to someone in need.
