Charity field report from Delhi, India

Two charity field reports from the SOS Children's Village Greenfields near Delhi, India which includes the Strengthening Motherhood Programme

Now I can give a better life to my children
Madhu* is a single mother who receives support from the “Strengthening Motherhood Programme” of SOS Children's Village Greenfields near Delhi. She has much to say about how she got into trouble and her way out of it.

My name is Madhu and I am 32 years old. I am a widow and am living with my two children in a rented accommodation. My husband was a disc jockey and worked in a three-star hotel in Faridabad. I was leading a happy married life till the death of my husband in 2001. He met with a road accident and died on the spot.

After his death neither my parents nor his family came forward to support me. I was working in an NGO where I earned rupees 2,000 (US$ 45) per month. Out of this I had to pay rupees 800 as house rent and the remaining amount was spent on food, education, medicines and other household expenses. With this small earning it was becoming extremely difficult for me to afford a decent living and give quality education to my children. Within months my kids dropped from school due to non-payment of fee. I used to cry when I saw other children going to school and my kids were at home.

I approached my mother for some financial help but she refused to help me as I had married against her wishes. It is true that in hard times even people close to you don't help. Under these circumstances I had to decide to leave my children at SOS Children's Village Greenfields so that they could be brought up well.

When I approached the village director for help, he assured me that my kids could live with me and at the same time receive financial support so that both the children could continue their education. Tears rolled down my eyes, I was so happy to hear this. Within days my children started going to school again. My daughter used to ask me if SOS is our friend and I told her that the only true friend we have is SOS Children's Villages.

Soon after this I got a better job and my relations with my mother also improved. Now I can educate my children well and give them a good living. I am really grateful and thankful to SOS Children for improving my condition and helping me at a time when I needed - and still need - it most.

Making Ends Meet with Five Children on $ 35 a Month

Kusum, a woman in her mid-thirties, lives in a slum area in Faridabad, a suburb of India's capital New Delhi. She works as a domestic helper in five houses to earn a living for her three sons and two daughters.

Five years back I came to Faridabad from my native village in Bihar. My husband used to drink a lot and did not earn anything. There were days when we had nothing to eat in the house; many times my children would go to bed without having eaten anything. I was finding it very hard to survive so I decided to work and be independent.

Kusum left her husband back in the village and went with her kids to Faridabad, in search of work. Being poorly educated, there were not many options for her; she could work as a labourer or domestic helper.

Kusum's daily routine
I get up at five and prepare food for my children. Then I wake up my eldest son who works in a factory. After he leaves I send my other two sons to school. My daughters don't go to school; Asha - the elder one - comes with me to work and the younger one stays at home.

I start working at eight o'clock. I do the washing and cleaning in five houses. While I am doing the washing, Asha cleans the rooms. My work finishes by two. We go back home and have lunch. There is no time to relax after lunch as I have to refill clean drinking water and wash clothes. In the evening, I usually spend time with my children and make preparations for the next day.

A meager earning
At times I feel that if I was educated I could provide my kids with a better life and I would send my daughters to school. But I earn merely rupees 1500 (approx. US$ 35) per month and I am also saving for my daughter's marriage. She is already 16 and I want her to marry as early as possible.

It is simply impossible for a mother to perform high-quality child care if she herself is poor and oppressed, has five or six children and is illiterate, lives in a slum and lacks support by her community or the father of her children. This is not just an account of Kusum; there are a great many other women in India who share Kusum's story of poverty, suffering and hardship.

SOS Children India has responded to the situation of women like Kusum who are in danger of having to abandon their children by implementing various outreach initiatives/programmes, including a "Strengthening Motherhood Programme" in Faridabad. The programme is targeted at single mothers with limited means of livelihood. Through offering counselling as well as financial support to the women, it aims at enabling them to provide their children with sufficient nutrition, school education and medical care services.

*For reasons of privacy we have changed the name of the woman.

SOS Children has been working in Delhi, India since 1968 when the SOS Children's Village Greenfields welcomed the first children. Today at the children's villages Greenfields and Faridabad more than 260 children grow up in a loving family environment. A further 1,200 children and their families are supported through practical help such as the Strengthening Motherhood Porgramme, health counselling and training.

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