A single rickshaw ride through a bustling Indian city became the catalyst for a remarkable personal and professional transformation for Kirit Thakore, whose new book, The Happy Rickshaw Driver, encapsulates his unique approach to helping people rebuild their lives after prison.
The Journey Begins: Inspiration from the Roads of India
The 59-year-old from the East Midlands found profound inspiration observing a rickshaw driver's calm demeanour while navigating chaotic traffic. This experience became a powerful metaphor for his work with people leaving the criminal justice system.
"In life, people tend to spend too much time dwelling on how the past will affect their future," explains Kirit, "particularly those who have been in prison." His fictional book character reveals that the secret to navigating the roads was to forget all vehicles behind him, focusing only on what lay ahead.
Transforming Lives Through Peer Mentoring
Kirit serves as a custody peer mentor co-ordinator for the Ingeus CFO Evolution programme in the East Midlands. His role involves visiting HMP Ranby in Nottinghamshire to discuss the benefits of becoming a peer mentor with current prisoners.
Following release, individuals can volunteer for Ingeus' seven-week mentoring course, which Kirit helps to manage. "We aim to show people they can turn their past into a positive future," he states, "using their experience of the criminal justice system to demonstrate it is possible for anyone to turn their life around if they want to."
From Business Closure to Life-Changing Work
Kirit's path to this vocation emerged after his successful dance fitness company ended abruptly due to Covid. He initially became a prison officer before moving to Ingeus to play a more significant role in rehabilitation.
His approach crystallised after hearing a former offender speak about transforming his life despite 97 convictions spanning 25 years. "Now he was supporting people with similar backgrounds to his own to rebuild their lives," Kirit recalls. "It seemed to me to be perfect rehabilitation."
Although Kirit hasn't been imprisoned himself, he draws upon lived experiences of homelessness, financial crises after business failures, and growing up in high-crime areas of Birmingham. This enables him to better understand the challenges faced by those he supports.
His mentoring course foundation, called 'Stop The Noise', addresses the barriers people face when attempting to change their lives. The principles have proven so effective that Kirit is now writing another book - a manual for dealing with different types of stress.
"Ingeus has been very supportive in my progression and has allowed me to use my own lived experience in developing the peer mentor programme," he adds. "The content is still delivered as developed by Ingeus, but I have my own way of presenting it."
Kirit concludes that the organisation genuinely helps people realise they have something positive to offer, creating a powerful ripple effect as those who benefit then pay it forward to others, continuing the cycle of positive transformation throughout communities.
