Sunday, January 25, 2009

It breaks our heart

After behaving quite well for several months (see our older post here) and making an effort (so it seemed) at reconciling with his wife, one of our street dads got drunk this past week, and then he beat her for no good reason.

Again, Kamini ran away from him and went to stay with friends for a few days. Her friends on the street, our street moms, knew where she ran to, but acted as if they didn't know to help hide her from husband.

When she ran away, she left her kids with Dad. One of the boys is now at Karunya Mane with us. At least Dad has the sense to let us take care of him, as he knows he can't do it properly. Dad, who spends his days working on the street selling vegetables or as a day laborer at the market, took the other little boy to stay with relatives.

After a few days, Kamini made her way to Karunya Mane. Her situation breaks our heart because she has come such a long way, from being a reckless woman living on the streets and contracting HIV to becoming one of the most caring, intelligent, and practical mothers who takes excellent care of her two little children. If not for her abusive husband... life could be so different for Kamini---and maybe it still can be.