Shadhika Newsletter Archive
July 19, 1993
Dear Friends,
Once again it is time to give you an update on Paripurnata, the halfway house you have been sponsoring. This was our first year of full operation. The year went very well on the whole, with only a few minor set backs -- nothing we couldn't overcome.
Among the first seven residents you heard about last year, only Bina still remains in the house. She had been given a chance to try out living with her brother and sister-in-law. It turned out that this may have been premature; she was unable to deal with having to be a virtual slave and with all the responsibility of household chores etc. She became severely depressed, requiring hospitalization for three weeks. A private hopital accepted her as a free patient. From the hospital she was released back to our halfway house and she is now being seen by a psychiatrist on a regular basis. Currently she is helping out in the house with the new residents, and is doing a lot better.
Bula and Shefali moved to a women's hostel and have jobs with local tailors. Their income is not quite sufficient to support themselves, Paripurnata is paying half their room and board.
A fourth resident, Bhanu, has returned to her hometown of Darjeeling and thru Mother Teresa was able to get a job as a kindergarten teacher at a Catholic school where she lives on the premises. With the help of her parents she was able to work out an arrangement with her ex-husband and his new wife, so she is able to see her children occasionally.
The remaining three women returned to their parents' families and things are working out fairly well. Bela is able to go to a local art school and is learning more about Batik work. We are not sure what Arati and Wahida will end up doing, but we are hopeful we might be able to get them into child care or into a nurse's aid training program eventually. Our social worker continues to make regular home visits to keep in contact and to help the families problem solve and readjust.
Three new women recently arrived as new residents of the house and another four have been selected and are awaiting their release from prison. Dr. Siromoni is still negotiating with the government for the three unoccupied rooms of the house to expand Paripurnata's capacity. Word has spread in the prison about the half-way house, and I am told that more and more inmates are requesting to be placed with us every time our workers visit to see the potential residents.
I will be going on my next trip to India during the month of September and on my return we will have our next gathering, at which time I hope to show you a current video and bring a more recent report. Please set aside Sunday afternoon, October 23, for the Shadhika meeting. I am very proud of all of you: without your generous help none of our modest achievements would have been possible.
Those of you who happened to see the 60-Minutes report a few months ago on bride burning, will know why I am so determined to continue this work and to expand it further. Our resident women were spared the fate of becoming numbers on the list of "dowry-death" statistics published from to time. Instead, they were sentenced to a life perhaps worse than death and with no hope and no future. Since they lived, they deserve a chance for a life. This is what Shadhika stands for. I am looking forward to your continued support and to seeing you in the fall. Details about the meeting will follow.
Shadhika's application for non-profit status (independent of Everywoman, our umbrella organization) has been filed, and is in process. I hope to be able to report further on this as well in October.
Juthica Stangl