A Mother leaves her 4-year-old Daughter - Our School Children

Today I would like to introduce you to a girl of our school who is in a quite uncommon situation. But let me start from the beginning.

Anjali is eight years old. When we come to meet her at her home, she is standing next to her cousin and her aunt and we mistake this boy for her brother and the woman for her mother. Only after a few minutes of talk however we got to know that they actually live exactly as if that was the case – Anjali’s mother was not living with Anjali.

She had left her husband and daughter when the girl was four years old. A reason? Anjali’s grandfather says he doesn’t know and never understood why. For two whole years, she was not in touch with the family at all, not with her husband and not with her daughter. One day, out of the blue, she was back at their doorstep and asked for money. Money from her husband from whom she wanted to take divorce.

Anjali’s mother had found another man and was now interested in getting a divorce as well as getting maintenance payments – although she had left her child behind with him. While Anjali’s father and grandfather are not very happy about it, there is now a court order, that she should meet her daughter at least once every two months.

Anjali with her eight years does not fully understand what is going on. Her aunt is like a mother for her, taking care of her when she comes home from school until her father comes home from work. He is a labourer at a big hotel in Vrindavan, earning about 50 US-Dollar a month and getting the room to live in. This room, the room of her aunt and uncle and the courtyard in front of it are her world. She comes to school with her cousin, who is like a brother for her, and she is very obviously a very jolly and happy girl.

We don’t know what the reason was for her mother to leave. That’s how one cannot judge her but of course when talking to this girl, one cannot help but asking himself how a parent, father or mother, can just leave his own daughter behind.

We hope that the future will bring peace into Anjali’s family situation. For her personal future, we are doi ng what we can to make it bright by teaching and feeding her completely for free.

If you would like to help us supporting children like Anjali, you can do so by sponsoring a child or sponsoring the food for a day for the children of our school.