Missionaries of Charity: Philanthropists and sisters keep the home for children living with mental illnesses afloat during the pandemic

More than 300 estranged people have found a home at the Mother Teresa Aashram in Vadodara. The place is run by a group called Missionaries of Charity and has children living with mental and physical illnesses. The Aashram also gives space to elderly people who no longer have a place to stay. While many businesses have hit rock-bottom due to COVID19, the organization’s sisters and philanthropists from Vadodara have made sure that the Aashram stays afloat and keeps helping children in the way that it has been doing for the last 35 years.

When resources are scarce, the sisters have been taking additional care to prevent the children from catching the virus. Recently, two of the sisters tested positive and had to quarantine immediately. The sisters make sure that doctors pay regular visits to the Aashram to check on the children, the medication is timely and regular, and sanitizers and face masks are kept handy. With the children not being able to step out for a year, the organization has made sure that they remain safe in the hostel.

The facility at Makarpura has been a place for children living with mental illnesses since 1986. The sisters at the Aashram have devoted their time and effort to the service of these individuals. While severe cases are transferred to the mental hospital, other individuals with lesser severity are housed by the Aashram.

The unique facility in Vadodara has a well-planned schedule for the children. A different activity is planned for the children each day. After the children have their breakfast, they are divided into groups. Then, activities such as drawing and coloring are assigned to the children. Later, to teach morals and ethics, something to read or watch is given to the children. After lunch and snacks, the children go for a walk in the Aashram premises, and after having dinner, they go off to sleep.

Calling it a deed of God, one of the sisters at the Aashram said, “We put our heart and soul into everything we do at the hostel. Sometimes, we do not even get a response from the children. Yet, we understand that they are broken individuals and try to provide them with as much love and care as possible.”

The local people in Vadodara have played a key role in assuring that the children have food on their table. The organization is dependent on financial aid from philanthropists. As per the organization, if they fall short of finances, they contact their head office in Kolkata to provide them with finances to run the place.

(After the article was published, 45 residents at the Aashram tested positive. This included: Mr. Anil More (65), an inmate at the Ashram who passed away at Parul Hospital on Friday morning, Sr. Mary George (76) has been put on a ventilator and is critical, Sr. Sheetal has been admitted to Lady Pillar Hospital and is stable, 3 sisters are in quarantine at the Ashram, 4 inmates and 1 staff are being treated at Parul Hospital, and 34 inmates are quarantined and being treated in the convent.)