Sunday 25 August 2013

A Visit To St. Catherine's Home

A part of my job-profile entails that I liaison with different organizations (primarily NGOs) regarding fieldwork placements of students. This responsibility took me to St. Catherine's Home in Andheri (West), Mumbai on a nice, sunny Saturday morning. While I have visited several organizations in the past, this one, in particular, was a humbling experience for me.

St. Catherine's Home was started in 1922 to provide shelter to unmarried mothers but today it caters to more than 300 infants, toddlers, girls and young, unmarried women who have been the victims of deprivation, abandonment and abuse. The one thing that struck me the  most about this home was its emphasis on not just providing education and rehabilitation but also catering to the psycho-social needs of the individuals residing there and ensuring they are re-integrated into society when they are ready. I was amazed to know that they ensure their children go on a trip to the sea-side once every year!

As soon as I reached the home, there was a young couple there who were just leaving after adopting a ten-month old baby. It was a touching experience seeing the gleam of happiness in the eyes of the new mother as she was holding the child in her arms.
After the couple left, I had a conversation with Sister which made me open my eyes about many things that I was already aware of but I chose not to see. For instance, I was told that one of the major challenges they face when they put children up for adoption is that couples do not want to adopt dark-skinned babies. I guess it is because of such obsession with fair-skin that we need campaigns like Dark Is Beautiful. I was also told that no family in India wants to adopt a child that has any mental or physical handicap. In fact, they do not even want to adopt children who have any scars or marks on their faces. I was really troubled on hearing this! While the mind-set is such that we want our children to be perfect, does this mean that children who appear farther away from perfection have no place in mainstream society? Is only beauty deserving of love and affection? I found myself thinking to myself that it is probably because of this narrow mind-set that the couples were not blessed with a baby of their own in the first place - no matter how hard I tried, I found myself being quite judgmental when I heard these stories. Sister told me that all children with special needs are put for adoption in foreign countries. She told me about children getting adopted and living in Sweden, France, Belgium and U.S.A. and doing very well there.
Every time I hear politicians or some orthodox people condemning how the 'Indian culture' has gone for a toss owing to Westernization, I feel they should reflect on some of the ways in which the Western society is better; especially when it comes to the way it treats its women.

While the home is doing a commendable job despite being short of funds, the fact that it exists is proof that we are living in a society that is in no ways safe for the people who have the XX chromosome. Every day, news of molestation, child abuse, gang-rapes continue to be hurled at the public through newspapers, radios and televisions. I wonder what happens after the sensationalism is over? No one is ready to take any responsibility. We wish to blame the government, the police-forces, the judiciary, the media, the politicians, the organization but nothing really comes out of this blame game. I just feel that it is now time to take matters in our own hands and be responsible for our own safety because expecting this country to be a safe place for women is like a Utopian dream.

Towards the end of the visit, the words of Sister that remained with me were, "Count your blessings! Our children, here, would gladly exchange places with you right now. You have food, shelter, clothing and so much more - be thankful to the ones who provide them for you. Parents are always taken for granted and never appreciated for all the things they do because after all you feel it is their 'duty' to do so." She gave us instances of fathers molesting their own daughters; mothers selling their daughters; uncles making their nieces work in the flesh-trade and all these stories just gave me goose-bumps. The trauma one feels when one becomes aware of the fact that the one who is assigned the job of protecting you and taking care of all your needs is the one who is subjecting you to exploitation and oppression is one that can be extremely heart-wrenching and something that no one can understand unless and until you have been in the same shoes. At the end of the visit, I just felt grateful for having so many privileges, luxuries and comforts - while I never have issues expressing my thankfulness, today was one day when I felt a simple 'thank you' would just not do.

To all the people reading this, I reiterate Sister's message and request you to make a list of all those things in life you are grateful for and express your heart-felt thanks to those people who have blessed you by providing those things. It will not only help you look at your life from a different perspective but you will also be making a difference in the lives of those who you hold in special regard. 

10 comments:

  1. it's amazing......
    i can feel the words and imagine the situations mentions in the blog......

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    1. Thanks Madhuri :) Hope you are doing well!

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  2. Divya, I think St. Catherine's was a field work setting during my time at TISS. Unfortunately I never got to be placed there. I am not very familiar with the process of adoption but are children actually paraded like things before they get selected? I thought that all that was required was to specify the age of the child you want to adopt and the gender. My blood boils whenever I read about child abuse etc. You know there is a concept that we used to work on when I was with an International NGO- it was called sexual exploitation of program participants where you as the NGO staff exploit the people whose life you are expected to change. People who were accused and found guilty of this were thrown out. But there are many orphanages where child abuse is very common!! All the government run homes traffic in women- there was a lovely film called "Umbartha"/ "Subah" starring Smita Patil where she plays the role of a warden in a home for women and tries to taken on the political mafia involved in exploitation of the inmates! You should see it if you can. God bless you - I am happy that atleast someone is still working in the sector and caring for these issues!

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    1. I am not very familiar with the process but I think instead of actually parading children, their photos are shown along with a short description and I think it takes off from there....I will definitely watch this movie you have recommended :) I have worked in observation homes where I have encountered cases of sexual abuse among the inmates there but so far I haven't come across any such thing within the home as far as St. Catherine's is concerned....It seems to be a wonderful place - somewhere I am considering to volunteer once I can chalk out some time :)

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  3. Much love, Divya!

    Thank you for sharing....

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  4. That was a great read; very thought-provoking.

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    1. :) :) Thank you! I am now volunteering there once every week :)

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  5. This is very true in fact i am bonkers about the thing which children had faced and they are here as an intern . so one of the girl has real bad story of her father was molesting her and if she refuses her father use to send her son to molest just because they dint want the girl child i got tears like still own family is been monster for her just because she is a girl.

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    1. These horrors do take place and it is very disturbing indeed...We still have a long way to go before the world becomes a safe place for women in general...

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