Mary is 30 years old. After her husband died a few years ago, she started living with her two children (who access the Gayatri House and are beneficiaries of the Mission Bambini sponsorship program) on the street opposite the Pondicherry General Hospital.
One night she noticed two girls walking in the rain near her street. She stopped them and inquired where they were going so late at night. She learnt that they were about 15-16 years old and had run away from their boarding school. She kept them safely with her on the street that night and took them back to their boarding school the next day. It seems that because the girls were scared that their matron would scold them for some mischief they had done, they ran away unmindful of how unsafe it was for young girls to spend the night on the streets.
Childline (an organization that specially works to help children in difficulty and in emergency situations), the police, the boarding-school in-charge and even the court, was grateful and appreciative of Mary’s help that night. (all the different organizations were looking for the 2 girls following a report filed by the boarding school when the girls went missing)
We were impressed with Mary’s dedicated efforts to help the 2 girls. On several occasions, Mary had to take days off from work to go to court and the police in order to complete tedious paperwork and written statements. After learning about the two girls’ previous tough past, she was happy that she took them in that night. She also understood that people were not inherently good or bad, but that circumstances made them so. These unfortunate girls have had a tough life with no guidance or protection and therefore knew no better.
Sharana is very proud of Mary and the example she has set.
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