The first thing I noticed when I walked into the Good Life Centre Orphanage was how happy the children were. In my entire life, I have never witnessed such a beautiful thing. The moment I walked into the room, a bundle of children formed a tight knot and greeted me with an abundance of affection. Now, this may seem like an overly formulated or cliche sentence, but it’s simply the truth. It was the standard name question that was asked every time, but the closeness and warmth behind it all definitely led me to believe that these children have the capability to form a bond with anyone they encounter.

I have met young children who have everything- from iPhones, iPads, and their very own laptops, to a selection of all the toys in the world. The joy that these materialistic items bring them is patently significant, but in my opinion, does not amount to the immense exuberance displayed by the orphans. Watching these children sing and dance truly made me believe that the two most important things in life are the smiles on our faces and surrounding ourselves with supportive people. In that sense, these children have it all.

Mr. K Baskaran is the buoyancy behind all of this. Without his consistent efforts to keep it afloat, the orphanage would be a far way behind. When speaking with him, I was given the opportunity to listen to the story behind how the Good Life Centre began: a mentally challenged 7-year-old girl. It was on his way home from work with a friend that Baskar came across the unconscious body lying by Chennai’s Central Railway Station. It was decided upon that he would take in the girl until they found a suitable home for her. Several days worth of searching resulted in nothing but a general hospital that treated and discharged her. Eventually, Baskar resolved that they would form a trust for the girl, which soon became an full fledged organization. Nowadays, the police, as well as ordinary citizens and the orphanage itself, bring in stranded children from the streets, where they are cared for with all the love in the world.

A happy ending (of sorts) evolved from years of hardship. In order to bring the orphanage to where it stands today, Baskar went along with his heart and where it told him to go. A number of things nearly prompted him to close down the orphanage when he had just begun- difficult children, a lack of support and doctors, as well as the struggle that every newly found non-profit organization faces: recognition. To this day, Baskar spends most of his time at the orphanage itself, greeting visitors, wholeheartedly accepting donations, and, of course, spending time with the kids. His dedication to the children exceeds everything else, such as going out to advertise the organization or even going out with his family.

His family being an instrumental part of the support needed to keep the Good Life Centre running, Baskar believes strongly in a family oriented upbringing. He encourages people to visit places such as these orphanages, simply because the smiles on their faces makes it worth it. The moral support they obtain when a small thing such as time is contributed, is astounding and helps with initiating a tight relationship. The great deal of affection and fondness displayed by the children is prominent today due to constantly greeting families and people who want to see them.

An extremely strong statement on Baskar’s behalf that stood out to me as the key difference between this orphanages and other orphanages was that the children “should never feel as if they had to struggle” during their childhood. The fact that they do not receive a standard family situation is most certainly not their mistake and they deserve just as much love and education as the rest of the children of the world do. Only there to improve lives, the Good Life Centre and Baskar are these orphans’ family. He hopes that as long as they have this organization and the dedicated people around it by their sides, they will feel proud to be who they are and won’t feel the need to differentiate themselves from more privileged others. After all, we’re all human and we all deserve an equal chance at building a life from scratch.