OUR FIRST PROJECT SWASTHYA – which was the distribution of sanitary pads to the girls in various shelter homes- one in Bangalore, one in Delhi, and two in Thiruvananthapuram. As destiny would have it, I got an opportunity to go and deliver it to them.
Our volunteers in Thiruvanthapuram- Priya, and Alka accompanied me. First we visited Agastya kutter Balika Sadanam in Koottoor. It gets its name from the hill (Agastya hill), from where these tribal girls come. We got to understand that these girls had to be trained on how to use the toilets..So it came as a surprise to see their rooms, beds, etc, all kept very neatly. The high school girls were at school as they had exams, hence we got to meet the middle school girls. They greeted us with a Namaste and all in their uniform as they were to leave for school for their exams. There are about 37 girls here of various age groups.
The next was Poornashree Balika sadhanam in Thiruvallam. Our volunteer Priya had some work so only Alka accompanied me. Here we got to meet the High school girls as the younger ones were at school. These girls were happy to meet us and we were greeted with a Namaste. We were offered Kheer. They showed us around their shelter home. The girls here were very comfortable talking to our volunteer, Alka. Meanwhile, the younger girls came back from school, All looking happy and greeting us with a Namaste. About 30 girls of different age groups are looked after here.
At both the shelter homes, the atmosphere was at ease, the children seem to be well taken care of by the respective matrons. The day starts at 5 am for these kids- with prayer, yoga, small chores, school, activities like painting, stitching, etc. before they call it a day at about 10 pm.