17th Dec.
The charity often finds women in distress, just sitting on a roadside somewhere ignored by the hundreds of people who pass them by. This morning we spotted a woman in the middle of a busy road with an injured foot which was badly infected. (WARNING GRAPHIC IMAGES).
Though agitated and in pain we persuaded Savita to accompany us to a nearby hospital. Unfortunately the doctors in three different hospitals were unwilling to admit her because her condition “might disturb other patients”.
Over the last 16 yrs. we’ve heard this line a thousand times. Homeless, injured and distressed women are just not a priority. One of the surgeons wrote a prescription and suggested we do her dressing, which we did at our centre. Three of her toes are black and will probably need amputating, and there is a deep sinus ulcer in the main part of the foot.
Afterwards she had a lovely bath; the 1st in many months! She ate a good meal and slept.
We traced her family; an alcoholic husband and two young children aged 12 and 7 yrs. Her husband was furious that we’d brought his wife back home! We “persuaded” him to keep her in the house and that the charity will address her medical and psychological needs.
Tomorrow we’ll try to find a surgeon willing to save as much of her foot as possible – fingers crossed!
19th Dec.
Savita is making good progress. She received treatment in a hospital 80 km from Nagpur in Wardha and is currently staying at the charity’s shelter for homeless women. We're confident that with counselling, her family will accept her back once her treatment and rehabilitation has been completed.
We look forward to updating you on her continued progress.
25th Feb
After staying at our shelter for two moths Savita’s physical and mental health have greatly improved. Following counselling, her husband accepts responsibility for his wifes continued support and rehabilitation. Savita is back with her children and enjoying life again. The charity will continue to monitor her progress.