Vathsalya Charitable Trust was registered in 1988 but actual work began only in 1989. Mrs. Mary Paul is the current Managing Director and she’s been around since the beginning (although she did take a decade’s sabbatical between 1991 and 2001 to bring up her own two children. The organisation was set up in response to a need that existed in society in the late 80s. As Mary Paul says, “The motivation was really the need. Because there were many agencies doing work in adoption but I think they didn’t have really mentors.” Prior to setting up Vathsalya, the Founder was working through the 70s and 80s with an organization called ‘Own International Children’s Services,’ which also worked in the field of adoption. It was more of a central agency that coordinated between adoption agencies in the southern states of Tamil Nadu, Karnataka and Kerala. After about two decades in the field, he decided that he wanted to set up his own organization. This way he could work directly with beneficiaries as well as work pan-India.
So Mary Paul responded to the ad he placed in the local papers advertising for the post of a Director. Mary Paul was working with children at that time and she had previous experience in family counseling and working with addicts too. But she says, “I had no adoption experience. And because I had no adoption experience, it was interesting. I had experience in other fields not adoption. So, I applied for the position to see if I could do it.”
Her association with Vathsalya Charitable Trust is as old as the organization itself – which explains why her heart and soul belong here! Spend a day with her and you’ll be regaled with tons and tons of heart-warming stories of the children who they have helped over the years.
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