We were on the ground with the mentoring team during a project visit earlier this month. And like always, our most awaited bullet point on the agenda was to meet the children and their families. We wish we could feature all of them in this update but alas that will have to wait. Let’s begin April with the inspiring and heartwarming story of Anjali - one of our brightest shining stars and a girl of determination, vigor and strength.
Anjali lost her mother when she was nine years old. She and her older brother were left in the care of their daily waged father. Devastated by the loss in the family, their father was always worried about them. He worked long hours with no definite time of return and the two children were left to fend for themselves all day long. Eventually, their father decided to re-marry for the sake of his children. What came next was least expected - Anjali was separated from the family and into institutional care because her father’s meager income wasn't sufficient for the family of four. For the next five years, Anjali longed to return home every single day. This decision took a toll on her father’s health, he lost his job and her brother dropped out of college to support her at home. Sadly, this is the story of thousands of children ending up in institutional care every year. Families are separated due to a lack of support and resources. Systemic strengthening and identification of children at risk for separation at the right time can avert this and keep families together. This is where Miracle Foundation steps in with its expertise of family-based and alternative care.
When the Miracle trained and supported CCI and started managing Anjali’s case, they were certain that she could return to her family, have her rights met and her family could be strengthened for livelihood as well. Our Thrive Scale tool helped us identify gaps where the family needed support and devise a needs-based support plan. The first measure was to help the father set up an indigenous coffee packaging and distribution business. We also helped her brother find a job at a local supermarket and provide additional support to the family. Anjali required support for higher education and we made a commitment to support her till she settled down in a job. After months of undergoing the various processes and stages of case management, Anjali returned home.
During an aptitude test and career counseling session, the social worker managing Anjali identified her potential in photography and consulted with the family to let her train in this skillset. Anjali was enrolled in a Communications course for graduation and is very popular in the community for her photography.
Today, it's been 2 years since Anjali’s returned home, the family has a reliable source of livelihood, Anjali is considering a Masters's degree, and most importantly, living together as a family. We were able to help Anjali return home because of your support and belief that every child belongs in a family.
We want to impact 2.5 lakh children like Anjali in the next five years. Would you consider helping us keep families together?