Flickering light in the blowing wind

Few weeks ago, I got a call at about 6:00 PM and the caller was howling and I had to repeatedly tell the caller to speak calmly but she couldn’t but after few minutes she was able to pull her strength to tell me who she is and delivered the most devastating news.  It is the story of loss of hope.

Sumalatha (name changed) is a beneficiary of ‘Community Outreach Program’ (COP) run by the Hope House.  COP is a program intended to support families that are burdened by HIV and/ or disability.  Sumalatha and her husband are diagnosed with HIV and they have been enrolled in our program which is run on the 5^th of each month where we support a family with groceries worth of 500 rupees (little over 8 dollars) each month.  Objective of this program is to sustain and hold the unit of a family together as long as they possibly can by providing them with good nutrition.

Sumalatha has four children – three girls and a boy.  Every month during our benefit disbursement sessions, she brims with pride when she talks about her children.  She talks about her challenges (frequent hospitalizations and debts etc) but she always reminds us that she wants to pull on for her children and for them only.  

That other day when she called me at 6:00 PM, she called to tell me about the brutal blow that this society chose to land on her fragile heart and on her family.  It is the news that put off the flickering light in her life.  Her 9 year old son fell off of a bus while he was returning from school and was run over to his death.    

Today (6^th of January) is the COP day (whenever 5^th of the month falls on a weekend/ holiday, it is run on the following day) and from morning my mind has been filled with the thoughts of facing Sumalatha for the first time after news of son’s death.  Will she come?  How will she be?  How should I comfort her without losing my composure?  As I was going out for my lunch she was waiting outside and as soon as she saw me, her eyes swelled up with tears.  I didn’t want to say anything because there were other families who may/ may not know about her situation.

I was glad to meet Sumalatha first after my lunch break.  Before even I could ask, she began to cry and told me the whole incident.  She pulled out a stack of photos of her son to show it to me and the young boy was cute in some and at his mischievous best in others.  Sumalatha lamented that she hoped that her son would be there to care for her during her sickness.  She told me that her daughters are so afraid that she might resort to extreme steps and expressed her inability to get any kind of state help in this time of grief.

I couldn’t do much except to give my shoulder for her to cry.  I listened and listened and listened.  When she was ready to listen to me, I simply told her how sorry I am about her loss and to face the life boldly and courageously.  Helped Sumalatha to understand the power of reassurance to help her young daughters to know that she’ll be there for them not matter what.  

On February 5^th, Sumalatha came again to the COP to collect her benefits but this time she had another bad news.  One of her daughters has developed mental illness due to the overwhelming grief of the family.   

Why does some have to endure more challenges than others?  Sumalatha didn’t ask for this debilitating disease or the death of her young son and illness of her daughter.  She’ll have to live with this void for the rest of her life.  I can only pray to God for Sumalatha that she be spared from any more of challenges and give her little comfort.  

Do you like to support individuals like Sumalatha through the Hope House?  You can donate online now and get maximum tax exemption allowed under the section 80G of Indian tax code.