In the midst of the bustling Tigri Slum, there is a heart-wrenching story of a 65-year-old woman named Ram Pyari. Ram Pyari, a native of a small village in Etawah District, UP, came to Delhi after her marriage. Her husband started working as a tailor in a garment unit in Tigri. It is with great difficulty that they built a small shanty and brought up their two sons. After some years, her younger son passed away due to food poisoning, leaving a mother filled with grief and pain. And a year later, her husband also passed away due to his struggle with Asthma. Since then, her life became so miserable as her elder son, with whom she lived, showed no familial responsibilities. He became an alcoholic and neglected his mother. Her daughter-in-law, who was differently abled, had no voice in the home. When Covid hit, her life became even more challenging as there was not enough money to buy food. She had to sell only gold earrings to put food on the table.
Asha’s ambassadors identified Ram Pyari’s plight during their survey in the community, and immediately, the Asha team reached out to help her. They provided her with daily rations, vitamin supplements, and medicines. And through Asha’s Love and Lunch geriatric feeding programme, she now enjoys daily nutritious meals and feels cared for. Ram Pyari is no longer alone, as the young Asha ambassadors visit her, clean her house, give her gentle body massages, and talk with her. She feels cared for and loved, just like a family member. She is so grateful to the Asha team, who have become her source of hope and joy in the darkness.
