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The moment our Saheli Women's Shelter became fully functional, it literally got flooded. So great was the pressure that for a few days there were 12 people in the shelter, against our capacity of 8. First to come in was 28 year old Radha and her 7 year old daughter. Fed up of years of constant physical abuse at the hands of her drunkard husband, All previous attempts at counseling of the family, by professional counselors failed and Radha was forced to flee from her home. She has files a separation application in the District Court and is also looking for a job. Radha is particularly worried about her daughters future, wants her to study in an English Medium School and learn Classical Indian Dance, called Kathak.
Soon thereafter we rescued a 35 year old lady, Sarita, who was contemplating jumping before a running train, so fed up was she, of daily physical violence in her home. In her distraught state, she even left her 3 year old son behind when she ran out of her home. Luckily one of her relatives called our Women's Helpline Number and we her picked up, with nothing but the clothes she was wearing. She has now settled down emotionally, is also hunting for a job and her first hearing in the Women's Helpline case is on 18th July.
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Four children were brought to us by the Child Helpline (1098) from Rishikesh. These 4 were real brothers and sisters who were left penniless in last years Uttarakhand Disaster, with their home being washed away near Rishikesh. The eldest, Ganga, studies in Class 11. Jamuna the next in line is in Class 9 and there are 2 younger brothers, Bhagirath and Gaurav. Their parents had dies a few years ago and all their relatives have disowned them. With the academic session starting in a fortnight, we need to get them in schools soon.
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Sensitization Talks on Domestic Violence
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Most Indian women, more so those from the lower socio-economic class are absolutely unaware of the protection Indian law gives them against being beaten up at home. Saheli has always been trying to sensitize women on these issues and two such meetings were held in June. The first meeting was held in Sapera Basti, Shenshai Ashram, Dehradun, and the other in Veer Jabbar Basti, Kishanpur.
It was surprising to realize how women accept daily beatings at home as a normal part of life. We tried our best to make them understand that this is NOT an acceptable situation, distributed our Women's Helpline Number and also stressed upon them that if all the women in the locality united and helped each other, they could help themselves as no one can.
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This month we bid fond farewell to Naina Jain. Naina, who studies in Delhi, spent her entire summer vacation working with women of Saheli Self Help Group, teaching them various handicraft items and batik. She worked selflessly for over 6 hours every day, sometimes even longer, when she could be enjoying her holidays with family and friends.
On behalf of the entire Saheli Family, a big thank you Naina and God Bless You.
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Message from the Secretary
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Greetings from Saheli,
It is amazing how time flies, I had barely finished writing my message for the May issue and now this is the June issue. Days, weeks, months just seem to be flying away. Running a fully packed shelter home, with sad and agitated inmates is not an easy
This month I would like to urge everyone to lend us a helping hand. We have five children who will soon be going to school and we need help in paying the admission fees, buying books, uniforms and other things. If you'd like to help out, please do let me know.
And finally, a big request to everyone is to please help us grow by giving us advice on the way forwards, by pointing out our mistakes and by suggesting new ideas to us. Please do not hesitate in criticizing anything you don't like. And if you live in Dehradun, or if you ever visit our city, my earnest appeal to you is to visit us. Do call me and I shall be honored to arrange a visit for you. My number is +91-9760371958.
With regards,
Shruti Kaushik,
Secretary, Saheli
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If you missed the back issues, please follow these links:
April & May 2014
March 2014
February 2014
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