SPREAD THE WORD

For a long time I m very eager to join in hands with some social organisations for the services. Here I m going put sum posts about the organisations that really for the society. So my post on this label called "RATIONAL THINKING" would be about THE BANAYAN.

Battered, bruised, brutally abused, both physically and sexually, ignored by everybody, eating out of garbage bins and with no place to call home. This was the situation of Chennai’s homeless women with mental illness even just a decade ago. They were an invisible minority, and would have stayed invisible had it not been for two young women who put them firmly back on Chennai’s social agenda. Vandana Gopikumar, then still a Master’s student of Social Work, came across a half-naked, mentally ill homeless woman in absolute distress on the road in front of her college. Nobody else seemed even to notice her. With the help of a close friend, Vaishnavi Jayakumar, she tried to find shelter for the woman. But most of the NGO's and organizations were not ready to accept the women.

They decided that they have to solve the problem and the result was the seeds to THE BANYAN. Vandana finished her Masters where as Vaishnavi dropped out of her MBA and joined in hand with her friend.The girls started growing the seeds of The Banyan in 1993.The Banyan started off as a shelter and transit home for homeless women for mental illness who had wandered from their homes across the country and ended up in the streets of Chennai.One of the duo’s core beliefs was that the women needed to receive timely treatment and to be rehabilitated in mainstream society. Twelve years later, after reaching out to over 1500 women, and successfully rehabilitating over 700, their beliefs have been vindicated.

With little more than the firm belief that nothing is impossible and that every human being on this planet is entitled to a life of dignity, The Banyan was registered as a Trust in 1993. Adaikalam (Tamil for ‘home’), a rented three-bedroom building, became a care and rehabilitation centre. Eventually over 100 women would call Adaikalam home, finding it a safe, comforting place where their wounds would be healed. Days of no money and hungry mouths to feed were not uncommon. As desperate as was the struggle was the importance of the work. 1994 saw The Banyan’s first rehabilitation, the beginning of more happy reunions and fairy tale endings than anyone could ever imagine.

There are several ways in which you can help The Banyan:

1) Make a donation in cash
2) Make a donation in kind
3) Volunteer with The Banyan
4) Visit The Banyan and spend some time with their residents
5) Organise some informal entertainment for their residents
6) Tell your friends, relatives and acquaintances about the work of The Banyan
7) Spread awareness on mental health issues at your school, college or workplace
8) Accept the mentally ill as individuals and as members of our society

All i wanted is that people whoever read this post should know that how privileged we are with our life. All they need is just a hand to help them to live a life that we are having. SPREAD THE WORD.