We all see the dark but seldom do people try to turn on the light. This is the journey of enlightening and nurturing lives: Mastyle Care. Just as the name suggests, Mastyle Care is a non-profit organization that caters to the needs of the less privileged by providing assistance and opportunities to those in need, just like a mother would for her children.
In the past few years, it has successfully organized several campaigns like “Chalk Walk to Stop Women Violence” and “Gift a Garden – A Horticulture Therapy for Autistic Kids” among several others. So we bring to you the story of Latika Wadhwa, the woman behind Mastyle Care.
The story of how it started?
The winter of 2013. Latika witnessed a just another everyday scene at the roads on India. Little children strolling barefoot on the roads on a chilly December morning. And her steps stopped.
“I felt bad for them and wanted to do something for them. I approached people in my friend circle for donating clothes, eatables and stationary and finally started a campaign over social media for the same. Lot of friends and family members came forward to help me.”
Following this, on Christmas, Latika approached a Dominos Pizza Outlet to arrange a small Christmas party for the children of the laborers around. With the sponsorship and support from the Dominos Staff, Latika brightened the Christmas eve for several poor children by providing them with food and a reason to celebrate. And in the success of her endeavor, she realized her dream and the will to make it come true.
What kind of hardships were encountered and eventually overcomed?
With every dream, come hesitation and doubts. Latika often encountered questions and misgivings regarding Mastyle Care.
“It came up as a shock to me when I found out that people who were so close to me mocked upon the name of my venture. I got so many mocking advices from the people around on the name , the failures I might receive in the coming days with my venture and most importantly that why I’m investing on something that have no earning . The problem in the modern day world is that they have become so much money minded that even if you want to do something for society they will foresee how much return they will receive from it and then only will come up to help people .”
But she never let any of the uncertainties divert her from the path she had chosen. She had a dream in mind. A dream to make this world a better place to live in, and she chased her dream regardless of what was said to her.
“I’m successfully running MaStyle Care for the past one and half years without even borrowing a single penny from anyone. I’m still not bankrupt, as some people thought I might get by investing so much money and time into MaStyle Care and with the course of time my content writing firm too is doing better and better by the blessings of the eternal power.”
A University of Delhi alumni, Latika also runs a content writing agency to fund the various events for MaStyle Care, along with the support from her family and friends, who extend their goodwill in the form of donating things for the underprivileged.
The journey of MaStyle Care so far and her vision for a better world
We’re in 2015 but even today, we are faced with several gender based discriminations and despite all attempts to spread awareness, it is never enough. The country is writhing with a patriarchal mindset where the lives of women are confined to the four walls of the household. Though women have broken all the barriers set for them and have gained accolades in every frontier, we still live in a society where they raise questions on women and set limitations for them. Mastyle Care has led several initiatives to create awareness in the society and instil confidence in the women of the nation.
MaStyle Care recently organized an activity on Independence Day called “Decorate a T-shirt for Women Freedom” wherein they called out to women to participate in the event and pen down their feelings, struggles and experiences and share them with the world. They also introduced an initiative called, “Chalk Walk to stop Women Violence”. They conducted the event in 6 locations in New Delhi and received tremendous support from the participants.
“It is a unique idea through which women are reclaiming the freedom on the street by writing down on the street with the help of chalk. It was a voice against oppressions faced by women on these roads in the form of rape, eve teasing and molestation.”
MaStyle Care also conducted the Mothers Meetup in May 2015 where they reached out to women who dropped their careers because of their children and urged them to seek out their dreams. They celebrated their first anniversary by conducting “Birthday Away”, an event where they organized a princess themed birthday party for 100 orphan girls.
Latika shared with HerSaga her vision for Mastyle Care and her dream of creating a world which is not bounded by social stigmas.
“We at MaStyle Care strongly believes that in-depth knowledge as well as good research will help you evade the root cause of the evils prevalent in the society. After finalizing one issue for the month, we constantly research upon that issue and finally adopt measures for it according to the understanding of our targeted audience and geographical area.
We have incorporated a lot of initiatives like Pop the Balloon on Stress, Horticulture Therapy for autism, Chalk Walk, Birthday Away, Mothers Meetup etc.”
The most memorable moment in the journey of MaStyle Care
As Latika recalls,
“The most memorable moment for me was during the Birthday Away event when the little girl came up to me and said Thank-You for a single piece of cake. She said that she got a good destiny that she could have such lovely cake and it touched me very much. A cake is like a normal thing for me and it became a luxury for little one. I still remember the happiness and joy in the eyes of that little 5-6 year old.”
Her Inspiration
When asked about the women she looks up to, Latika spoke of meeting several amazing women along the way who have inspired her in her journey.
“There are lot of women who inspires me to do something good. I have met so many women in this course of 2 years who have left a mark on my personality. I have seen women who are facing so many problems and yet are so happy, women who have lost their dear ones are still strong and bold. So these qualities in few women near me inspires me to do for the society. There is not one but so many who the real fighters are.”
MaStyle Care has been doing its best to provide opportunities to the women and also improve the standard of living for the less privileged. But it is not a one woman’s fight. Endeavours such as these require support and enthusiasm from everybody. Because every one of us can make a difference if we try. This is Latika’s story and the journey of MaStyle Care. Let’s try and change the world and let’s start today.
