Old age home for 350 abandoned elderly women

Sarla got married at the age of 14 to Sharma, a 40 year old man. He was extremely agressive in nature and was an alcoholic as well. Under the inflence, Sharma was often violent towards Sarla, even after the birth of their only daughter. Due to the domestic violence she was suffering Sarla left her husband with her daughter a year later and started working in a shop as a helper. Unfornately a few months after she left, her husband found her wherabouts and took their daughter along with Rs 10,000 from the shop. After working for three years at the shop, Sarla remarried; he was a father of 1 son and 3 daughters. Out of his love for her, Sarla's husband bought a house in her name. To Sarla's surprise, a few years later, her daughter came back and convinced her to go and be with her in Jaipur. Being her only daughter, Sarla decided to go. How ever, in Jaipur Sarla’s daughter took all her money and threw her out onto the streets. After this humilating incident, Sarla returned to her house. On coming back, she fell sick and to make matters worse, her step daughter made her sell the house to pay for her own treatment. Now, Sarla was left with no place to stay, nor did she have her husband later as he had passed away. With their father gone, the step children refused to allow her to stay with them. In the midst of her struggle, a well wisher fortunately introduced her to Maitri. She now lives at our Old Age Home secure and happy at heart. 

Across India, thousands of widows are living a life of misery, loneliness and poverty. How ever, with the continued support of generous donors like you, Maitri has been able to alleviate some of their pain.

In 2010, Maitri began making efforts for the welfare of destitute widows through daily mid day meals. Today, we have the privilege of having constructed two old age homes and take care of 100 widows living there. The money raised especially through you, has helped us expand activities, sustain this project and get more widows the care and love they deserve.

As a contributor you would be glad to know that with funds you have donated, the construction of the ground floor along with a courtyard of our second Old Age Home is complete. In addition, a refrigerator, water cooler, light bulbs, and ceiling fans have been fitted. Further more, 50 beds, mattresses, pillows, sheets and cupboards have been procured and installed. This achievement is noteworthy as it enabled us to already move in 45 widows as residents. On 5^th of May 2015, Maitri officially inaugurated this housing facility and in commemoration widows received a special mid day meal and celebrated with song and dance.

Currently, 68 women reside in Maitri Ghar, Vrindavan while others to be sheltered are in process of being screened. The resident widows are being provided 200g of milk, 2 slices of bread and a cup of tea every day in addition to their daily mid day meals. A recent collaboration with the RK Mission Hospital has made ensured that a doctor makes regular visits to the Home.

To protect the residents of both the Old Age Homes from disease brought in from mosquitos and flies, we have installed wire meshing on all windows and other openings.  

Widows reside at both Maitri Ghars in much comfort and peace, yet many of them still miss the company of their families and loved ones. In fact, while many of us proudly celebrated the mothers in our lives this Mothers Day, these women carry the crushing weight of being rejected by their families. 

In light of this occasion, celebrating mothers and motherhood, Maitri would like to invite you to honour widows in our care. Their needs are pretty simple and all they require is hygienic living, a square meal a day and some basic necessities. On May 13th, GlobalGiving is matching EVERY eligible donation on our Bonus Day! In the first-ever Pro-Rated Bonus Day, the matching percentage will be decided at the end of the day based on this formula: ($75,000/Total Amount Raised) x 100 = Matching Percentage. 

There is such great satisfaction seeing the sparkle come back into a widow’s eyes. Your gift is touching her heart and soul, and for her, it is priceless.