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This is a story of family
comprising of ten members; a couple with
seven children and one old grandmother of
age eighty-five (85). This destitute and
impoverished family belongs to a far flung
and remote valley of Golodass, Punyal (a
village 130 Kilometers away from Gilgit
town).
The family is headed by the
old grandmother who works hard to make ends
meet. The father of children is physically
and mentally retarded and unable to feed
them and take care of them and unable to
work. To add to their anguish, their mother
is also physically disabled and mentally
challenged, so the children are deprived of
both maternal/paternal love and affection.
The eldest son, 15 years of
age, is laboring and working tirelessly to
earn a little income to support his family,
but even that is not sufficient to cater to
their basic needs. There is not enough land
for cultivation, no regular income source
and no other means to carry the burden of
life ahead and the family is undergoing a
very tough time to survive.
The family lives in a small
hut, which is vulnerable for both winter and
summer extremes. Four children are at school
going ages, but cannot regularly continue
their studies; merely due to the inability
to afford the school fees, the cost of
books, uniform etc. The kids are
undernourished and sometimes malnourished as
it’s a daunting task for the grandmother to
arrange a wholesome food for them. Their
condition is so miserable and pitiable that
their condition would bring tears to
anyone’s eyes.
Seeing the dismal condition
of the destitute family; CEENA admitted one
girl of age seven at the
Empowerment Centre for children (CEENA
Orphanage), where she is now living a happy,
complacent and meaningful life with other
mates of similar backgrounds. She’s now
growing and glowing with pride and
aspirations to continue her education with
an aim to be a role model for others.
Through empowering others, CEENA makes a
positive contribution in lives of many
innocent and impoverished segments. |
