Need for a home that heals
The Hindu
Caretakers at shelters for homeless women in the city say their challenges go beyond providing basic amenities as the inmates need regular counselling and skill training
Three years since she was abandoned by her husband, Anita Mourya, 30, has come a long way from a being a homeless mother of two to a self-dependent woman earning for her family and planning a future for them.
Her biggest support in this journey has been a shelter home for women in Karol Bagh, which not only provided her a roof and food but also gave her the confidence to rebuild her life from scratch. Regular counselling and skill training sessions at the shelter home, managed by Aashray Adhikar Abhiyan – an organisation working towards the betterment of homeless people since 2000 — helped Ms. Mourya step out and earn and save for her family. “I am working hard to educate my children and provide them a home they can call their own,” said Ms. Mourya while discussing her future plans.
While the sight at the Karol Bagh centre gives hope and relief, the picture is far from similar at several other shelters for women run by the Delhi Urban Shelter Improvement Board (DUSIB).
In 2021, five women from Mayithara, four of them MGNREGA (Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Act) workers, found a common ground in their desire to create a sustainable livelihood by growing vegetables. Rajamma M., Mary Varkey, Valsala L., Elisho S., and Praseeda Sumesh, aged between 70 and 39, pooled their savings, rented a piece of land and began their collective vegetable farming journey under the Deepam Krishi group.