Shadhika Newsletter Archive
September 25, 1997
Dear Friends,
I am a little late this year in bringing you up-to-date with my annual account of Shadhika related happenings. We were away all summer and everything slipped a few weeks as a result.
The Paripurnata half-way house is now a well established small institution, thanks to your dedicated and concerned support. As I reported to you in the past, the "Safe custody" law, as it was called, was finally abolished through our and other women's organizations' efforts, and Paripurnata's focus has shifted accordingly, as its original objectives are no longer as imperative as they had been. We are now concentrating on the rehabilitation of women with manageable psychiatric problems, and on preparing specific families and the greater community for accepting them. We are also active in finding proper treatment facilities for those whose problems are beyond Paripurnata's capacities.
Of course, the "Safe custody" law changed so far in Calcutta only. So the original theme of the half-way house is not yet completely obsolete. We are regularly requested to accept women from other parts of Bengal where women are still in jail due to lack of rehabilitation programs. At the moment we have four women from outside Calcutta who are under psychiatric care and being trained for future job opportunities. We also have four women discharged from Calcutta mental hospitals and are working with their families as well as with other facilities in the community toward their placement. One of our women who was placed back with her family a year ago had to return to the center due to problems in the family. She is pregnant and wanted an abortion. The family was very much against the idea, so Paripurnata staff is mediating the conflict and is helping discuss different options with the family and her doctor.
The halfway house, within the constraint of its limited physical facility, is running fairly successfully. We are still no closer to a new building. New offers of land from private individuals keep coming, but always with strings attached or with legal complications which are difficult or impossible to resolve. Several board members are actively pursuing various options and are getting more involved in fund raising as well. The project has gained considerable visibility, so local financial support is gradually materializing. As awareness of women's plight in Calcutta is increasing, there is now a realistic chance that the project will secure sufficient local funding in the future. I have discussed this with Mrs. Siromoni and the Board and we agree that this is an essential strategy for the long term viability of the project.
There is a new idea I would like to introduce to friends of Shadhika. You may remember that during the last few years we were deeply involved with Peter's very old aunt and uncle, both of whom passed away the end of 1995. The problems of old age very much on my mind, during my last couple of trips to India, I was sensitized to old-age social problems there. I became aware that there are no programs whatever for an increasingly large number of helpless old people. I am not referring to the homeless or totally derelict for whom Calcutta is famous -- that problem is far too big, even for the Sisters of Charity... I am referring to a segment of the population who have difficulty getting by, but are too proud or unable to go out and ask for help. Until a generation ago the Indian extended family took care of these people. But the extended family is in the process of breaking down in the cities and the old are becoming disenfranchised -- is this perhaps one of our cultural contributions to the Orient? There are an increasing number of old people who are totally house bound, lonely and isolated, uneducated, unable even to read the eviction notice when they are behind on rent payments. Many of them are severely depressed. The suicide rate among old people is on the rise.
Last time in Calcutta I talked to several people interested in supporting, by volunteer work, a "Senior Center" facility to help address these problems. The objective would be to seek out old people who are in this situation and offer assistance: to be taken to a doctor, to see a lawyer, to help write letters, to assist in shopping, and perhaps once a week or so to bring them to a Center for something social like a movie, or a trip somewhere, or a meal together.
I also talked about this with my brother, Robin, when he visited here last year. He got very interested in and excited about the project. On return to Calcutta he immediately went to work on seeing if it could be turned into reality. Robin is very active in the church that our family has been a member of for decades -- I am the only black sheep in my family in this respect... He discussed the concept with the Bishop and secured his support in the form of the use of the church hall, telephone, office space, and so forth. He then proceeded to organize the people I had talked to the year before and formalized their commitment to a project to help the old. As a result, the seed of a formal organization was put in place, waiting for a chance to officially take off. To launch it as a pilot project, last July Peter and I made a contribution of $1,000.
Robin has recruited a Board of Directors and is getting ready to legally register the organization (once a name is agreed upon). He is willing to commit to oversee the operation on a volunteer basis. He is an excellent candidate for this. He retired from being the personnel director of a major corporation, is very well known in the community, and since retirement has been active in running projects in the slums, orphanages, and in fund raising.
While Robin arranged for initial church support of the project, the proposed Senior Center is not sponsored by the church, nor is there any religious connection whatever. The proposed Center is completely non-denominational and secular, available to all, without regard to race or religion.
I would like to propose that Shadhika funds, provided that the new Senior Center pilot project develops into a successful operation, be gradually shifted from Paripurnata to also support this Center. Ideally Paripurnata would become fully locally funded in three years, during which time the new Center would gear up to a full program. Accordingly, Shadhika funding would shift from Paripurnata to the Center over the next three years -- subject, of course, to what actually evolves and where the needs are greatest.
As Shadhika supporters you can be proud to have been instrumental in launching a stable, useful service in Paripurnata. I feel that we have the opportunity to launch a similarly useful project with the Senior Center, in an area where no or very few in-roads have yet been made. Shadhika could again set an example. I would like to appeal to you to see if you can increase your support this year when we have a chance to launch an exciting new venture.
Enclosed is the invitation for the fund raiser on Sunday, October 26. There will be substantial snacks and drinks, but most importantly we will have a chance to discuss the projects in person. I hope to see you then.
Best regards,
Juthica Stangl