INDIAN WOMAN LOST A DAUGHTER
AND BECAME MOTHER TO
800
ORPHANED GIRLS
G'day folks,
Dr
Sarojini Agarwal lost her daughter in a road accident, nearly 40 years ago, but
the tragedy inspired her to help other abandoned girls. Since the mid 1980s,
the 80-year-old woman has taken in around 800 girls, caring for them and
ensuring that they receive a good education, in order to become confident and
independent individuals.
Sarojini
was driving a motorcycle on a road near her home in Lucknow, India, with
her 8-year-old daughter, Manisha, on the back seat, when they became the
victims of a hit and run accident. The mother survived, but her precious
Manisha died that day. Dr Agarwal spent years morning her loss, and asking
herself “why my child”, until one day when she realized that there were so many
girls out there in need of motherly love, and helping them would be the best
way to honor Manisha’s memory.
“When
Manisha died a voice from my aching void asked me – why do you weep? It would
not bring back Manisha. There are many unfortunate girls, who do not have
anybody,” Sarojini told the Deccan Chronicle. She poured all the money
she had earned in royalties for the collection of short stories, poetry and
novels she had written in her career into transforming her
three-bedroom home into a welcoming refuge for abandoned girls, and in
1985, Manisha Mandir
opened its gates.
The first
girl Sarojini and her husband, V C Agarwal, took in was a deaf and
mute child whose single mother had died while giving birth. She was soon
followed by two young girls whose mothers had also died in accidents, and then
others, some who were abandoned as unwanted, others found wondering the streets
by Agarwal herself, and even a few rescued from brothels. At one point, she
even hung a crib at the gate to her home, so parents could drop off their
newborns, instead of leaving them on the street.
“We have
even taken in two-day-old baby girls. It would then occur to me that you need
not give birth to a child to be a mother. When I would take those babies in my
arms, my desire for a daughter would be satiated,” Sarojini told The Better India. “Initially, I had to face some
problems in bringing up the girls but I did not lose heart and continued to do
everything I could to help them.”
Apart
from the love care all kids need, Dr Sarojini Agarwal goes out of her way
to make sure that the girls get the best education possible. She has changed
homes several times over the year, and the current Manisha Mandir has a
well-stocked library, a computer lab, craft workshops, as well recreation
amenities like gardens with swings, basketball and badminton courts and a
television room.
When they
are old enough, the girls are enrolled at some of the most prestigious schools
and universities in India, as Dr. Agarwal firmly believes that education is the
only key to a successful life. Many of them have grown up to become bank
managers, teachers or principals, and have married into good families.
“Only
good education can make the girls independent, which is so crucial for their
self-confidence,” 80-year-old Sarojini says. “We get them admitted to good and
prestigious schools. Many of our girls have excelled in their studies and have
secured good jobs.”
“In every orphan and abandoned girl, I see my daughter Manisha. Maybe God took my daughter away from me as he wanted me to take care of these children. I thank him for giving me this opportunity to keep her memory alive in a meaningful way,” Sarojini says.
Clancy's comment: A lot of great people were born in India. What a wonderful human this lady is, eh?
I'm ...
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