Thank you for your continuing support of Institute for Family Well-being. The following report will cover the period from April to June of 2017. Our mission continues to be to empower abuse survivors through education, equipping, and rehabilitation, to prevent violence and abuse through training and public awareness, and to intervene when necessary in instances of violence and abuse through advocacy and aid.
SHELTER HOME
Occupancy Sixteen new guests arrived at the shelter this quarter. Giving us a current occupancy of twenty-six women and sixteen childre
Counselling and Mental Well-being Totally, our counselling and mentoring team facilitated 124 hours of counselling and mentoring this quarter. Of those, 98 hrs were spent with adults and 26 hrs spent with children.
In addition to our usual mentoring and counselling, we introduced family counselling this quarter, holding three sessions with families in crisis. This was helpful in building alliance and cohesiveness between mothers and children. In one case the family need to begin building a plan for shifting out of the shelter. We were able to build a plan together as a family, since the family includes children from ages 12 to 22.In two other cases the families were struggling with internal issues which were making it difficult for them to function and make decisions about whether to stay in the shelter or how to interact with each other.
Our children were able to participate in a two day creative art therapy group led by students from the Studio for Movement and Art Therapies. Two of our women have been experiencing what seem to be fairly severe episodes where they are not sure of where or when they are. We have been helping them to plan ahead to cope with their memories and anxiety to avoid these breakdowns. We have also continued taking these and two other women to the National Institute for Mental Health and Neuroscience for regular checkups and medication if necessary.
Educational Pursuits During their summer holidays, our children attended two summer camps put on by local organizations. Here they participated in fun, games, and crafts, as well as discussions of values, and adolescent issues with the appropriate age groups.
A local organization, in addition to continuing to support out students by sponsoring their tuitions, has also sponsored one of our residents to study law. This resident underwent severe abuse in her own family. After coming to the IFW Shelter home, she was able to complete her undergraduate with high marks despite the fact that safety concerns prevented her from visiting her campus in person except to write her exams. Now she wants to become a lawyer and prevent others from suffering the same abuse she went through.
Six of our women underwent training in nursing and palliative care at a nearby home for differently abled women, and one has been enrolled in a beautician course.
Employment Opportunities Early in the quarter, one of our guests was placed at an advertisement company. Another was placed at an NGO, but unfortunately the work was not a good fit. One of our residents was placed as a teacher in a nearby school, and three are employed as teachers at the playschool which we have begun to run.
Legal Intervention This quarter, we were able to facilitate our guests going forward with four divorce cases. One is a case being heard in North India, and is being handled by an NGO there, so it was quite an accomplishment to facilitate a meeting between our guest and the legal team working on her case. In one more woman’s case, the divorce proceedings have finally been completed. While it is never a joy to see a marriage fail, when one party is an abuser, preventing the other from living a happy or even normal or free life, it is certainly a relief to see the divorce completed. One more of our residents has a case in progress and is being supported in her court visits, while a final resident has filed a case of domestic abuse against her husband and is asking for a protection order, but has not yet filed for divorce.
Recreation and Entertainment Exciting news brought joy to all as the one of our shelter alum’s baby turned one. The entire shelter turned up for the celebration. Later in the quarter, a local contact sponsored a lovely homemade dinner for the shelter residents, and a former volunteer and her husband took the entire shelter out to a restaurant for lunch. All residents had a great time and were extremely thankful. Resident Updates We were given a lot of exciting news to report this quarter, as two of our shelter residents and one of our alums announced their engagement! We look forward to happy and healthy unions for all of them. Less harmoniously, we had an offer of marriage made to one of our residents which, on further inspection, did not appear to be straightforward or in the best interest of our guest. We were able avert this alliance, to our great relief. Another of our alums came back to visit us. It was a bittersweet meeting, as she is an HIV positive lady, and seems to have not taken her medication since leaving the shelter. Since she spent two days with us, we were able to send her for a checkup and to get a fresh prescription. We hope that she is pursuing treatment and doing well. Another of our alums has stayed in touch, and we have been relieved to hear that she is excelling at her work, and even reconnecting with the son who she was forced to leave behind when she divorced her husband. Leaving him was one of the hardest things she has had to do, and the fact that she is able to spend time with him now is healing and a relief for her.
COMMUNITY INVOLVEMENT
Networking We were privileged to host a group of Social workers based in Bihar who had come to Bangalore for further training. As part of their training, they spent four days learning our structure, processes and vision. We were also able to contribute to three days of discussion with a national network hosted by a local NGO to discuss legal and medical problems facing domestic violence issues.
Training Held We held two trainings. The first was at the Army Institute of Fashion and Design and included values, leadership, communication skills, hygiene, healthy relationships, human trafficking, and mental health. The second was at Kristu Jayenthi College. This was a one day training in healthy relationships and how to look for signs of abuse. One of our guests was able to attend and share her story of abuse and recovery..
Community Groups We continue to participate in the Silver Blossoms Elders club. Recently we led the group in elder focused exercises, meant to improve mobility and balance. It was educational and a lot of fun.
STAFF TRAINING
We strive to keep our staff leaning, growing, and improving in their fields. This quarter three staff attended a discussion on gender issues hosted by a local NGO. Two staff attended a two-day training in Narrative Exposure Therapy also hosted by The same organization. Staff and several shelter guests attended a CPR Training.
INCOME GENERATION
We were able to raise more than Rs. 10,000 through the sale of jackfruit which was donated to us by a local contact. Meanwhile, we continue in ongoing talks with Urban Fitness about The Run. At our Silver Blossoms Facility we have started play group/coaching center for community children, and the group is slowly growing.
CONTINUING CHALLENGES
We continue to seek residents for our old age home, and children for our play group. Actually, children wanting to come from the nearby community are abundant! But as it is a lower-income community, we hope to find sponsors for many of them, allowing more children to start down the path of education and growth. This is challenging work, emotionally, physically, and relationally. We are challenged every day to continue in the commitment we have made to empower and aid victims of abuse.
Thank you again for your care and interest in the work of IFW! We trust that this newsletter finds you well and succeeding in all your endeavors.
Sincerely, IFW Staff.
