Sunday, July 1, 2012

Maher

when i first arrived at maher, sister lucy welcomed me amoung others, with a smile. the children (about 40) sang to me and put orange and red powder inbetween my eyes. sister lucy then told me and another guest about maher. sister lucy started maher because she found a 7 month old woman badly burned on the ground. no one would help her. she was burned because her husband poured gas on her and lit her on fire, by the time sister lucy arrived at the hospital with her, she passed away and the baby too. sister lucy had to help so she started maher, an orphanage and womans shelter. over 600 children live at various centers. i was able to visit 4 centers.
maher definately needs support, these are not centers like the usa, the 25 children or so in each one live in one room, they lay out mats on the floor. each center has a cook, house mother, and social worker. they learn songs, english....i was there on a sunday, kids played all day. sister lucy starts centers in villages that need. maher buys toilets for these villages since people were going to the bathroom all over, making it very unhealthy. one of the centers i visited was in the middle of desert-like mountains, nothing else around, surrounded by mountains. this was the tribal center, very beautiful place. the children love visitors, the held my hand, loved my camera. i saw a house motjer picking lice out of a childs hair, giving the bugs to the child to see and let free. lets hope i dont get lice, not an easy cure in india.
these villages are very poor, some have a temple, some have a school.maher hair tries to raise money so each child can start a bank account for college, starting a bysiness, or marriage. sister lucy also has a center for woman and children with disabilities. she hopes to separate the children with disabilities to a different home. maher desparately needs help with the mentally disabeled and mentally disturbed from acts of violence. no doctors are available, they do not know how to treat these people or how to teach them . anyone is encouraged to help!
i saw some of the slums where the children come from, most have no paperwork. maher never says no to taking in a child. truly inspiring. 2 young girls were on there 3rd month volunteering, they were doing a total if 4 for college. if more colleges could help, it would be wonderful.
again, maher started 15 years ago, it has come a long,long way, it will be interesting to see how maher develops in 15 more. sister lucy has way more energy than me, she is not ready to stop helping, is extremely determined. i will post photos when i get back to usa. sister lucy told me to keep maher in my heart, after visiting, my heart and wishes goes out to everyone at maher, no doubt i will send good thoughts throughout my life.

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