Visit to Shishur Sevay - Purba - October 2007
Last weekend I got an amazing opportunity to visit Shishur Sevay(SS) in Kolkata, home to 13 orphan children. Well I should not be calling them orphans because all of them have found a mother in Michelle. Some of you might have met her and would surely be aware of her selflessness and dedication to the cause. Together with Gibi and a group of dedicated staff they have brought smiles on the faces of these children. Life had been unkind to them. Most of them had faced torture in the government homes and most of them came without any medical records. Michelle and the people at SS have done a lot to heal them 'educationally', health wise and psychologically … It really is amazing what love and care can do. When little Jaya, who suffers from cerebral palsy came to SS she could not move her hands at all. Now with her very own hands she also pulls Michelle's glasses. One only has to look at the way the kids connect with Michelle to realize what she means to them. It's a beautiful initiative to give these children a chance to be part of the mainstream society in some kind of an equal footing. I really could go on writing about this but I would like rather to talk about the problem that they are facing and put it out there for all of you to think if we could help in some way.
Sadly, the Government has been less than appreciative of her efforts. SS had a license for a few months and is up for renewal and now the Department of Social Welfare is making her run from pillar to post for it. Sometime back DSW issued an order (without sending any intimation to SS) to take in four more kids. They were not orphans and some of them came from decently good economic background (one kid's mother was a nurse) and education wise they were way ahead of the rest of the kids at SS. One of the biggest reason also was that they really do not want to expand anymore. With the kind of personal care and time that the kids require it will not be possible to do that if there are too many. Michelle's model (though I think a bit utopian is beautiful all the same) is that more people would come forward and take similar initiative. Ever since SS refused to take the kids they have been creating problems with the license. They even went on to say that she was discriminatory. For people who have met Michelle know how far it is from the truth.
Without the license she cannot apply for the FCRA, without which it would be difficult to get foreign donations. For now she is running it out of her own pocket. This might be very difficult to sustain. One thing good in all this, other than what the children are getting, is that the local councilor and the police are with SS and they would protect them; but living in constant fear of an uncertain future is not a very good option. All this running around really take away the quality time that she could spend with the kids.
This is such a beautiful initiative we should try and show support in whichever way possible. We could send a letter of support from ASHA. Though I know the fight with the government is on a different plane but it might help.
Sadly, the Government has been less than appreciative of her efforts. SS had a license for a few months and is up for renewal and now the Department of Social Welfare is making her run from pillar to post for it. Sometime back DSW issued an order (without sending any intimation to SS) to take in four more kids. They were not orphans and some of them came from decently good economic background (one kid's mother was a nurse) and education wise they were way ahead of the rest of the kids at SS. One of the biggest reason also was that they really do not want to expand anymore. With the kind of personal care and time that the kids require it will not be possible to do that if there are too many. Michelle's model (though I think a bit utopian is beautiful all the same) is that more people would come forward and take similar initiative. Ever since SS refused to take the kids they have been creating problems with the license. They even went on to say that she was discriminatory. For people who have met Michelle know how far it is from the truth.
Without the license she cannot apply for the FCRA, without which it would be difficult to get foreign donations. For now she is running it out of her own pocket. This might be very difficult to sustain. One thing good in all this, other than what the children are getting, is that the local councilor and the police are with SS and they would protect them; but living in constant fear of an uncertain future is not a very good option. All this running around really take away the quality time that she could spend with the kids.
This is such a beautiful initiative we should try and show support in whichever way possible. We could send a letter of support from ASHA. Though I know the fight with the government is on a different plane but it might help.
posted by bean2bbean at
11:44 PM
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