Kaaliyamal is an elderly woman living in Madurai, India. After her husband’s death and being abandoned by her daughters, she lived on her own, isolated, and struggling to provide for her own basic day-to-day needs. That is, until our HoPE Learning Center students found her and began caring for her.
She shares some of her heart-wrenching story:
Kaaliyamal was married off at a very young age, and she and her husband had five daughters. The pair struggled to provide for their family, working as hired farmhands. Kaaliyamal’s husband passed away at a young age, leaving her to raise their daughters alone. She struggled to provide for them, but gave it her all, working endless hours and sacrificing everything she had for their wellbeing. Unfortunately, two of her daughters passed away when the flu hit their village.
Kaaliyamal married off her three remaining daughters in the hopes that they would take care of her after their weddings. All three promised her that they would come back to get her. She waited for three days without food or water, until one of her neighbors found her on the verge of unconsciousness.
She says she remembers asking for her daughters and being told that no one was coming back for her. It was then that she knew she’d been disowned by her daughters and came to the realization that not only was she alone, but that her only property, the house she lived in, would also be taken from her, leaving her to live in the streets.
Kaaliyamal’s neighbors did what they could to take care of her, but she got to the point where she couldn’t move around on her own, growing weak and dependent after years of pining after her daughters, suffering intense physical pain whenever she tries to move.
When our HoPE Learning Center students found Kaaliyamal, she was using her sari to cover herself, as she had nothing to protect her against the weather; neither did she have any other basic necessities.
Kaaliyamal is grateful to her Tripura Foundation sponsors for providing her monthly rationing, including the food she loves so much. She especially loves the food given on special occasions from our HoPE Learning Center. She says she feels loved and cared for when our HoPE Learning Center students visit her during the evenings and bring sweets to share with her. She is thankful for the children who take care of her in her old age.
Help us reach out in compassion to more elderly members of our human family:
