The mother in this family is an inspiring community advocate who lives near our family support center. Her husband was worried she was going to leave his home and chained her for four years, only unlocking her to use the toilet. When he died unexpectedly she was left with no financial support and five daughters and one son, aged 1-13 years old. Money was raised for her by the community but was taken by other family members, which caused her significant grief. Her eldest daughter then fell ill with typhoid and died in a hospital. During this time the mother stayed with her, and upon returning home she discovered that her younger daughter had an immunodeficiency disorder and pneumonia. She recovered after one month, but these events caused the mother to stay at home for two years while in grief.
In an effort to help her situation, she began taking up stitching work and enrolled two of her daughters in a good local school. The oldest daughter is now doing stitching work at home. She has taken stitching trainings provided by FCS. and her son has enrolled in Palanhar, where they hope to attend one day. During the summer camps held by FCS she brings her younger children as well as neighborhood children who want to attend, ensuring their safe arrival and return. She hopes to attend a self-help group where she can receive a stipend and enroll her eldest daughters in income generation schemes related to stitching so they can continue to support the family.
The mother and father in this family have been married for five years and have a four-year old son. The father was diagnosed with throat cancer a year and a half ago, which has rendered him unable to work. The rest of her family is either unable to work or do not earn enough to support the family. As her village did not educate girls, she has never attended school and is not literate. Her son was attending school, but had to drop out due to the family not being able to pay for school fees. He says that he likes school because he learns poems, gets to play and color, and enjoys studying. The mother is now seeking stitching work so that she can support her family without leaving the home. ParivarSahyog Kendra is seeking opportunities for her son to receive an education sponsorship and for her to receive stitching jobs she can do at home.
Another family that has been supported by FCS has a mother and father who have been married for six years. The father has significant heart issues which require frequent doctor visits. This made it hard for them to contribute to the household they were in with the father’s parents, so they were kicked out. He is working 11 hours every day but is not able to earn much money. The mother has stitching jobs at home but does not earn enough to cover the family’s needs. She went to school until seventh grade and hopes that her five year old son will receive a better education than her. At one point she sold all of her gold jewelry in order to pay a debt owed for the son’s school fees. The mother hopes to get help for her husband’s medical bills and her son’s education. She hopes to do this by connecting with income generation activities through the family support center.
The girl in this family was left with her aunt and uncle at the age of five months after her father became addicted to drugs and her mother left the household. She is now being raised as their daughter along with two older sons aged 16 and 17, who were unable to attend school past 5th grade for financial reasons. Her uncle has suffered severe health problems which have severely limited his ability to work. The two brothers are working, but are not able to provide enough for the family by themselves. They have tried to secure legal rights from the father in order to receive Palanhar benefits, but he has been difficult to meet because he lives far away and is unreliable due to his addiction. The family is hoping to find a donor in order to continue the girl’s private education to help secure her future.
The woman in this family married at the same time as her sister. Her sister was sold by her husband and committed suicide after becoming very depressed. The first woman was very frightened and received permission from community leaders to separate from her husband and returned to her parents. After a few years her family placed her into a second marriage despite her being hesitant to marry again. Eventually one of her husband’s family members started a rumor that she was a prostitute and unfaithful. The husband then became a severe alcoholic and would physically and verbally abuse her. She then ran away with her two daughters to live with her parents in Udaipur. Her husband sent a recording saying that he wants custody of their daughters and afterwards will kill the woman and her family.
She later got into an accident and broke her collarbone, and her surgery was a failure which means she will never fully recover. This has prevented her from doing heavy work, but she works as a maid as often as possible and earns about 500 INR a month on average. Her mother works as well, but her father has health issues which prevent him from holding a steady job. Her daughters are now 2 and 3 years old, and currently in nursery school. The school has been flexible with fees due to their family situation, but this will not last much longer. She has decided that she will send her children to an orphanage if she is unable to take care of them due to her current physical and mental state. Sponsoring her family would help keep them together and avoid her children being sent to an institution.