Jushya and ONUS :)

Contributor: YA Team

“ONUS made me believe that nothing is unachievable and no dream is too big to attain.”

Jushya Kumar, a resident of Delhi, is a girl driven by her passion and strong will. A student pursuing honors in Sociology from Jesus and Mary College, Jushya is extremely passionate about dance, a passion she diligently worked towards in college. Jushya joined ONUS as she found herself extremely touched by the passion with which the members of Youth Alliance spoke about making a change in society. Being keen on making the underprivileged feel visible, Jushya thought joining ONUS would not only be a good way to utilize her free time but would also be a space for her to meet people with varying perspectives. But the journey Jushya was to see unfolding was a lot more intriguing and mystical. 

During the NJPC campaign which was a humble effort of the ONUS team in association with GOONJ to fight against menstrual taboos, Jushya came across facets to her character that she never knew existed. Not only did she raise a fight to challenge the society’s orthodox views, a war also raged inside her against her own beliefs and apprehensions. "NJPC campaign stood out because I had to battle the hesitation inside me to work for it. We have been conditioned in a way that menstruation is something to be hidden, something to be ashamed of. Getting over that barrier inside me and convincing others to do the same was quite a task.” Like Charles Bukowski once wrote, “Drink from the well of your self and begin again”, Jushya found herself treading a whole new path, with a fresh new start. 

Jushya learned the values of empathy at ONUS. She realized that sometimes, to make the underprivileged visible, one does not need elaborate schemes and big promises. Sometimes small gestures like greeting them and acknowledging their roles in our lives does the trick. Jushya also learned to appreciate the beauty inside every individual. “Judging a book by its cover is the worst thing one can do.” She writes. 

An impatient, easily irritable person earlier, Jushya finds herself a lot more calmer after embarking on the ONUS journey. “ONUS helped me realize that unconventional doesn't have to have a negative connotation. Also, all the guest speakers at our sessions opened up a whole new world of job prospects for me.” Grasping all these things from ONUS, Jushya is already working towards building a path towards her own happiness as well as for the society’s welfare. 

At last she writes, “The Onus journey has been phenomenal. The friends I made here turned into family and I know I can always rely on them to be there whenever I need them.”

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This story is compiled by Prachi Lohia, who herself was a ONUS 2014-15 participant. Applications for the next cohort of ONUS (Aug 2015- July 2016) are live now. Know more here: http://youthallianceofindia.org/onus/