Know Our Team- Learning Every Day

Know Our Team is a series that attempts to bring to you the stories of our team, share our experiences, why we do what we do and special moments that have left an indelible mark in each of our lives.

Renita is a Mass Media graduate. She is currently working with Safecity as the Communications Officer. She handles the Safecity Blog and all the communications within the team and liaises with other organisations. Watching movies, reading books and listening to music are a part of her staple diet. Being creative, she enjoys art and craft and makes personalised gifts. She believes in being herself and making a difference one step at a time. 

Know Our Team- Learning Every Day

I had been volunteering as a writer for Safecity for a while sending in an occasional blog or two. Through this volunteered work I was slowly being introduced to an organisation that was actively trying to question and counter the realities of life that people are too scared to talk about in the open. I found myself writing about the importance of consent and the problem of the all-pervasive sexual harassment.

Working with Safecity has been a complete eye-opening experience for me. Earlier, I was one among the ignorant youth who did not appreciate the creepy stares or dirty remarks being passed at me but did nothing about it since I didn’t even know anything could be done. As part of my documentation work, I attended our own workshops in schools, colleges and corporates that create awareness about Child Sexual Abuse, Sexual Harassment, the Laws that protect us and our rights to exercise those laws. That is when I realized the true meaning of ‘Knowledge is Power’. I started becoming more situationally aware. When I caught a guy staring at me, I refused to be subject to it meekly and questioned him. It was a victory, though a silent one, when he turned away and didn’t ogle at me again.

My work has given me the opportunity to meet people from communities in Mumbai, to see the harsh realities of life that they face every day, realities that I was once oblivious to. Through the numerous community interventions Safecity facilitates, I learned that the power of actively asserting your rights to be safe as a citizen goes hand-in-hand with doing your duty as a citizen to make your own area safer.

We have a unique series called Broken Silences that are poetic versions of the anonymous reports that we receive on our crowdmap. Transforming these reports from around the world into verses proved agonising as I read the traumatic experiences many face on a daily basis.

Being Head of the Communications team has given me the chance to interact with numerous people, both in our team and other organisations, every day. Seeing the work that every single one of them does in their own capacity makes me feel a part of something bigger and gives my writing a higher purpose.

Being a part of Safecity has helped me discover my own strengths. While I underestimated myself earlier I, now, know my capabilities and am more confident than before. Fresh out of college I was a bit apprehensive about my first job but the entire team has been extremely warm and accepting. I have been given the chance and exposure to an array of experiences from which I learn something new every day.

It’s been a while since I have been a part of Safecity but it feels like a long journey already. I have transitioned from a volunteer to a full time Communications Officer and am proud of what I do.