Help doctor couple rescue abandoned women with mental disorders from streets. Donate now

Sarita (name changed) was abandoned by her family after she developed mental disorders. She was preyed upon by abusers and sexually exploited. When a team of the Mauli Seva Pratishthan found her on the streets of Pandharpur, she was seven months pregnant, malnourished, and in extremely poor health. She was provided immediate critical care at Mangav, a safe haven for abandoned mentally ill women run by Mauli Seva Pratishthan. Few months later Sarita delivered a healthy baby boy who is now studying in a school. 

Sarita and her baby may not have survived without the efforts of Dr Rajendra Dhamane and his wife Dr Sucheta, the founders of Mauli.

“In today’s world, even women who have a house and family are not safe. Just imagine what happens to the women left on the streets just because they have some mental disorders? They fall prey to exploiters everyday,” says Dr Rajendra. 

Sarita is just one of the hundreds of women that the team of medicos led by Dr Rajendra save from a life of misery and exploitation on the streets. You can help more mentally ill homeless women get a safe shelter and a life free from misery. Donate Now

“Mentally ill women living on the streets are sexually exploited and often become victims of gang rape. Many of them die a painful death on the street, while others get infected with HIV or end up getting pregnant from their repeated exploitation”, says Dr Rajendra Dhamane. 

How Mauli came into being

It was almost 25 years back that Dr Dhamane and his wife Dr Sucheta were returning home from a medical camp when they saw an elderly lady sitting beside a garbage dump and consuming waste. They were so moved by the incident that the duo started preparing food and distributing it to abandoned women living on the streets of Ahmednagar, Maharashtra. They also started providing medical care and treatment. However, they realised that after all their efforts, they failed to ensure the safety of these women who were constantly being sexually assaulted. The couple started Mangav as a lifelong safe haven for mentally ill abandoned women on their plot of land in Ahmednagar. 

Dr Rajendra and Dr Sucheta became saviours of mentally ill abandoned women living on the street. Presently, the couple provides love, care and medical aid to 400 women and their children.

Motherly love

“Mauli in local Marathi means mother, and it was my mother who inspired me to start working with elderly abandoned women. She was a teacher and worked in rural areas. She passed away about 25 years back and handed over to me a responsibility to continue to serve the society like she had,” Dr Rajendra says.

Mauli Seva Pratishthan also operates a fully equipped Intensive Care Unit at their shelter home. According to Dr Rajendra, many women when rescued are fighting for their life and it is his duty to provide them the medical care they need.

The NGO urgently needs funds to keep the organisation running and also to rescue more women from the streets. 

Without your help, abandoned mentally ill women might continue to face exploitation. Save them from sexual abuse, starvation and a life of misery. Donate generously.