Domestic Violence Family Centre Fund

Dear Supporter, 

We are so grateful that you have helped us get closer to our goal of $10,500 to support the expansion of our Secunderabad Counselling Center - Thank you! 

If you follow our work and campaigns, you may remember Sandhya and her daughters Pavani and Pallavi. We fundraised to send Pavania and Pallavi to school after their accademic year was disrupted when they were forced to flee life-threatening abuse in their home. It was the first time we raised funds for a specific client, and used funds to help the rehabilitation process. 

Sandhya had endured over 14 years of horrific abuse including attempts to take her life when she met our Counsellor Pearl at the Secunderabad Centre for the first time. She lived under such tight control of her husband, that much of her counselling took place through a pay phone when she was able to call Pearl while out shopping. It took a year and a half for Sandhya to make the decision to escape, and it was her daughters' future that gave her the courage. After creating a safe exit plan with her Counsellor, it took Sandhya months to find the safe moment to escape. Her opportunity to escape happened to come in the middle of the night, during her girls' end of year exams. Fortunately, it was a scenario that Pearl and Sandhya had prepared for - Sandhya knew she must put her safety first knowing her daugters would get another chance the following year at their exams. 

Once Sandhya and the girls escaped, however, they were faced with many new challenges. Sandhya began the difficult process of filing a police report and getting protection. Living in a safe home, she started a new job and began saving for rent and basic necessities. Even though Sandhya and Pearl had gone together to visit safe homes as a part of the exit plan, when time came they had to change plans because that safe home was no longer a safe option for Sandhya. 

When the girls joined school, our Secunderabad Center Counsellors and Coordinator worked with them to establish safety protocols for the girls. Despite changing school districts and police orders against visitation, their father found them and attempted several times to intimidate the school into giving him access to them. 

The help she received from her Counsellor, then her Legal Aid, and now her Self Help Group has helped her establish a safe and peaceful home for her daughters to grow up in. Pavani and Pallavi are now class toppers, and Sandhya is living her dream watching them grow. They are now free from abuse and free from fear. 

This is only a part of Sandhya's story. There are so many other Sandhyas who our Secunderabad Center has supported, and so many we have not yet met. Our Secunderabad Center receives more of these particularly harrowing and challenging cases than any of our other Centers. We need more PeaceMakers to expand our outreach so that Sandhyas in that community are aware of the choices available to them to live lives free from abuse. 

Your donation has helped us get one step closer to making the Secunderabad Center expansion possible! That is incredible! Would you now consider sharing Sandhya's story with your friends, family or colleagues and sharing with them your reason for donating? It is possible that, together, we help more women like Sandhya who are desperate for a choice to escape abuse find a route to Peace. 

If you'd like to share Sandhya's story and video, you can find it on our blog - here. 

Thank you for your support!