As a child, I had a knack of sneaking children begging on the streets into my house… I always yearned to do social work, says Somy Ali on being a humanitarian

Career is very important to everyone, says Somy Ali. The Bollywood star turned humanitarian shares how she leads her professional life. She goes back to her childhood to explain her point - Jyothi Venkatesh

“When I was seven years old, living in Pakistan, I had a knack of sneaking children who were begging on the streets into my house. I think I always yearned to do social work. It made me happy to help others and there is nothing altruistic about it.

I would say that it’s simply selfish because it brings joy to my life when I am able to bring happiness to those who are suffering.

Given I have a degree in psychology and I am a certified victim advocate, it depicts that this has always been a path I would choose to walk on someday,” she says.

Somy believes in both luck and destiny. “But I also believe that there are many bad people who get away doing horrible things whether it’s someone as barbaric as Hitler, Stalin or your average layperson.

Karma skips many people in their lifetimes,” adds Somy, who runs her NGO, No More Tears (NMT), in Miami, US. NMT is ‘nonprofit with a mission to assist and empower survivors of human trafficking and domestic violence’.

“Our NGO has rescued and saved over 35,000 women, children, men, members of the LGBTQ community and abused animals. I would say I am beyond satiated and this is not just locally in South Florida, but internationally and quite a few from India too.

I would like NMT to grow and have several chapters with volunteers helping people in need. Hence, I am planning a trip to Mumbai sometime this year,” she shares.