Destitute home in need of more space, more permanent address REBYNA RANA

GANGTOK, 23 Sept: Mayalmu Sangh, a home for the mentally challenged located in Dara Gaon, Tadong has been facing problems regarding accommodation for a long time now. Due to certain reasons, the home which was earlier located at Metro Point, Tadong has been shifted to Dara Gaon, near Post Office at Tadong.
This destitute home was established in 2008, starting with three inmates.
Speaking to media persons today, care taker of the home, Bindya Gurung informed that a proposal regarding a permanent solution to their accommodation problem had been placed with the state government some time back. The proposal had also been sanctioned by the government but due to some reason it has not materialized thus far, she said.
The home was to be shifted to Lingdum which had been approved by the Urban Development and Housing Department. However, this has not happened and the home had to be shifted to Dara Gaon instead, she informs.
“We need a larger space and this rented accommodation is proving too costly for us,” said Ms. Gurung.  The home is paying a rent of Rs 10,000 per month at present. She further informed that the home runs on donations. While the monthly expenditure of the home is around Rs 50,000, it receives only around Rs 20-21,000 in a month from donations, she added.
“Thukchuk Lachungpa donates every month to the home with his blessings, and sometimes we go door-to- door for donations”, she said.  The Social Welfare department also provides Rs 1.5 lakh to the home every year, she added.
“We receive calls from the police and well-wishers to take in people but we feel sad to turn them away because of the lack of space in the home”, she expressed.
The home, which has four rooms, accommodates 24 inmates at present.

A life reclaimed thanks to the Mayalmu Sangh initiative

Bishnu Maya Tamang, 26, when she was brought to Mayalmu Sangh as a destitute and now, as she heals from traumas too many for her young mind to have handled without help.
ANUSHA GURUNG
GANGTOK, 08 May: Twenty six year old Bishnu Maya Tamang is originally a resident of Namthang in South Sikkim and like hundreds of others, a victim of last year’s devastating earthquake. Already unsettled by a series of unfortunate incidents, the earthquake proved the final straw and she snapped. Now, thanks to the efforts of the Mayalmu Sangh, she is recovering... learning to start living again.
While speaking to media persons today, Bishnu Maya recounted how she reached the destitute home here at Tadong. She had been married to Namgyal Tshering Bhutia for 5 years and also bears a 2-year-old son from him. Unfortunately, her husband passed away in an accident in 2010 and since then she had been ill-treated by her mother-in-law as well as other family members, she informed.
When the earthquake struck on 18 September last year, she panicked and jumped into a nearby river along with her son. When her mother-in-law found her, she took her grandson away, leaving Bishnu Maya to fend for herself.
Already suffering, the harrowing experience of the earthquake and the trauma of losing her son proved too much for her fragile state; she lost her mind and ended up walking through the jungles for the next 2-3 months before she was finally located by her brothers who then brought her to Mayalmu Sangh. At the Sangh, she received medical treatment from psychiatrist, Dr CL Pradhan and her condition is now better.
Dr. Pradhan visits the Sangh twice in a month of his own accord and does not take any fees for these visits and Bishnu Maya’s brothers only pay for the medicines he prescribes. It is the rescue of such lives of the brink which make the Mayalmu Sangh initiative important to support and sustain.