Maher (NGO)

Maher
Founded	2 February 1997 by Sister Lucy Kurien in India
Type	Non-profit; NGO
Location	Center in Vadhu Budruk ; Main Office in Pune;
Services	Homes for children, women and men, self help groups, general outreach, women empowerment
Members	Current Members: 980 children, 640 women (including 280 mentally ill women), 180 men, 12,000 SHG members through 604 SHGs, 320 employees Total Beneficiaries till date: 48,000+ (approx. numbers)
Website	maherashram.org

Maher (Marathi: My mother's home) is an interfaith and caste-free Indian non-governmental organisation based near Pune with remote homes in Ranchi, Ratnagiri, Miraj and Ernakulam. The objective of the organisation is to provide shelter and support to destitute women and children. It was founded by Sister Lucy Kurien in 1997 in the village Vadhu Budruk.^[3]

History[]

The Beginning (1991)[]

1991, while Sister Lucy was working for the H.O.P.E organisation,^[4] a pregnant woman came to her, asking for help. She believed her husband was going to kill her to bring another woman into his house. Sister Lucy couldn't help her, but promised to try and do something for her the following day.

I was brought up in a secure family environment and I was unaware that one night could make such a difference to the life of a woman"; "That very night, her husband, in a drunken rage, set her on tembefire. I actually saw the blazing woman and heard her shrieks of agony. We put the fire out and took her to a hospital but she died of 90 degree burns and with her died the seven-month-old fetus. I was devastated..
— Sister Lucy^[5]

After this incident Sister Lucy decided to found Maher, to help women in such a plight. It took almost seven years to get the needed support, but on 2 February 1997 in the small village of Vadhu Budruk, on the outskirts of Pune, the first Maher house opened its doors.

Further Development (1997 - 2017)[]

Sister Lucy Kurien (left), founder of Maher

Maher began with Sr. Lucy, 1 house, 3 residents, and daunting odds. Today, Maher operates 43 houses served by a loving army of doctors/ social workers/ teachers/ trustees/ business people/ volunteers etc., providing homes for over 1,200 full-time residents (860 children, 300 women including 120 mentally ill women and 71 mentally ill/aged destitute men) in addition to the thousands more reached by community programs such as kindergartens, self-help groups, village libraries, and so on. All are welcome at Maher regardless of religion, gender, caste, color, creed, or social status.

Over a period of only 20 years, over 38,000 people have been impacted with Maher's aid programs, 43 houses have been built (7 for women, 34 for children and 2 for men) and Maher expanded in other states of India: Jharkhand (2008) and Kerala (2009) . Also the aid for Maher increased considerably. More and more people, mainly from Austria,^[6] Germany,^[7] the United States and the UK,^[8] came to support the project. For her work at Maher, Sister Lucy was honoured with the Nari Shakti Puraskar at the hands of the then President of India, Pranab Mukherjee, DCCIA Award for Excellence in Social Service 2010^[9] Global Women's Leadership Award 2011,^[10] Paul Harris Fellow, Vanitha Woman of the Year Award among other prominent awards. Maher and Sister Lucy Kurien have featured several times on Indian television, including the popular show Satyamev Jayate hosted by actor Aamir Khan, and also on Vatican Radio. In 2015, Sister Lucy was invited to attend the Clinton Global Initiative.

In May 2017, Maher was granted a "special consultative status" with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (UN-ECOSOC).

Sr. Lucy with Pope Francis

Maher founder, Sister Lucy, has had the opportunity to meet with Pope Francis, Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and former US President Bill Clinton on different occasions.

Today (from 2017)[]

In 2017, Maher had its 20th anniversary celebration attended by 15,000 people from 10 countries. Former President of India, Pratibha Patil, chairperson, Lila Poonawalla Foundation, Lila Poonawalla and eminent Buddhist nun Jetsunma Tenzin Palmo attended the event on 5 February 2017 at Maher Vatsalyadham, Avhalwadi, Pune.^[11]

Structure[]

Maher's activities are grouped into different projects - the three main projects are Mamtadham (Marathi: a place of mother's love), Kishoredham (Marathi: a children's place) and Vatsalyadham (Marathi: a place of love). The organization is led by women leaders - the founder Sister Lucy Kurien and the president Hirabegum Mulla.

Summary of all Maher projects[]

Projects for Women
SN	Name of the Project	Nature of the Project
1	Mamtadham	Shelter for battered and destitute women
2	Vatsalyadham	Shelter for mentally disturbed women
3	Swavalamban	Self-help micro finance groups of village women
4	Aashai	Shelter and medical care for indigent expectant mothers
5	Parishram	Vocational training to indigent women
6	Sukh Sandhya	Shelter to destitute aged women
Projects for children, youth and men
SN	Name of the Project	Nature of the Project
1	Premalaya	Crèche cum day-care center
2	Kishoredham	Shelter and education for children from broken homes
3	Ushalaya	Village kindergartens
4	Vidyalaya	Study coaching for needy students
5	Vidyadhan	Opportunities for post-high school education
6	Gammat Shala	Daycare for the children of brick-kiln workers
7	Tantragyan	Technical training for older children
8	Aadhar	Placement for village youth
9	Kalasagar	Open school for drop-outs
10	Karunalaya	Home for destitute mentally ill/aged men
Projects for general population
SN	Name of the Project	Nature of the Project
1	Ekata	Free provisions to poor families
2	Pragati	Rural outreach programmes
3	Dnyan Ganga	Village libraries
4	Swachchhata	Vermiculture pits, Biogas plants & Toilet construction in the villages
5	Lokmangala	General outreach in times of natural calamities
6	Adiwasi Kalyan Kendra	Welfare activities for tribals
7	Karya Mandal	The central administrative office

Philosophy[]

Most of Maher's children and women are Hindus, but there are Muslims, Buddhists and Christians too. Maher's emphasis on interfaith is essential in the everyday life, but also at special occasions. In November 2012, Maher celebrated the Hindu festival of light - Diwali - in a special way: people from different religions recited verses and prayed together.^[12] In order to promote peace, harmony and brotherhood, Maher celebrates all the major festivals of the different religions in India. Maher also takes steps to follow the idea of sustainability: In March 2013 the organization decided to play Holi with natural colours^[13] instead of using the common synthetic colours.

References[]

^ "About Maher". Maher. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
^ "About Maher - Introduction". Maher. Retrieved 17 June 2013.
^ Janjali, Arwa (Sep 9, 2011). "Giving them love when they need it most". Sakaal Times. Retrieved June 19, 2013.
^ "Friends of H.O.P.E". Human Organization for Pioneering in Education. Retrieved 24 June 2013.
^ "Maher History". Maher. Retrieved 16 May 2016.
^ "About Maher". Vienna International School. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
^ "German: Friends of Maher(registered association)". Catholic Church Liebfrauen. Retrieved 25 June 2013.
^ Kulkarni, Pranav (May 7, 2008). "From Bhima to Thames, orphans from Maher captured UK hearts". The Indian Express. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
^ Express News Service (Oct 12, 2010). "Deccan Chamber looks for ties abroad". The Indian Express. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
^ Mascarenhas, Anuradha (Feb 28, 2013). "Maher away from home for abandoned mental patients". The Indian Express. Retrieved June 24, 2013.
^ "Celebrations at Maher | Sakal Times - NewsDog". Retrieved 2017-11-20.
^ Udyawar, Gayathri (Nov 12, 2012). "Diwali spreads cheer among city orphanges". The Indian Express. Retrieved June 25, 2013.
^ Shinde, Swati (Mar 22, 2013). "NGO to celebrate Holi with natural colours". The Times of India. Archived from the original on April 19, 2013. Retrieved June 25, 2013.