Page 7 - Balvihar january 2024

Freeing Prisoners'

Children

(Who is a hero?
A hero is someone who has given his or her life to something bigger
than his or her own self.
And who is an everyday hero?
This is a common person, with no outstanding abilities or attributes,
but when placed in extraordinary circumstances, acts with heroic
qualities.)

What happens to kids of prisoners?

A couple from Bengaluru, V. Mani and his wife, Saroji sacrificed their many luxuries to build a
home for children of convicts.
The story:

In the early 1990s, V. Mani would often pass by the Central Jail
on his way to work. Over time, he noticed that many children
hung around outside. Out of curiosity he asked questions
and found that they were the children of convicts and had
nowhere to go.

It was even more pathetic when the prisoners were women. It
was common that the mother lost custody of her child, who
now became like an orphan. This was also because many
times, the relatives refused to take care of the children.

One day, Mani brought four such children to his home.
He and his wife sheltered and fed them and took care of
their education. This was the start of an organization called
SOCARE IND (Society of Care for the Indigent).
Indigent means poor, needy.
Today, the organization based in Karnataka works
for the children of long term prisoners, giving them a
place to live, with access to food and education. The
couple had started SOCARE with the money they had
saved. Later, funds started arriving with donations.
Today there are 26 children in SOCARE.

– Bharati Sukhatankar

7

Balvihar - January 2024