Monday, July 18, 2011

Another Reunion Trip


Social worker Suresh Lukose (right) assists patient to identify location of his home village.
On the road with social worker Vikram Shelar.
Led by social worker Vikram Shela, a Shraddha team again hit the road to reunite three patients with their families. This time the destination was Hyderabad in the state of Andhra Pradesh. The day before, social worker Suresh Lukose worked with the patients to determine the exact locations of the patient's families. We left Karjat at 5 A.M. and drove 600 grueling kilometers on National Highway 9 reaching Hyderabad at 11 P.M.
The next morning, thanks to Vikram's sleuthing, we located all three patients' families and witnessed emotional reunions. Most moving was Muhloo's reunion with his mother and sister. Muhloo (name and photo used with his permission) had been living on the roads of Maharashtra and Andhra Pradesh for eight years and his mother had given him up for dead. At first sight of Muhloo, she seemed frightened and Vikram translated that she thought she was seeing a ghost or a demon. Vikram's reassurance was enough to soften her from fear into tears of joy....
I say my farewell to Muhloo at his family's home in Hyderabad

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