About
Lest you conjure up an image of a gleaming building full of well dressed children being looked after by an army of attendants, let me disillusion you. Her orphanage looks after girl children (she only takes in girls), and they are housed in a tiny postage stamp sized piece of land that was donated to her by a kind soul. Or perhaps not so kind soul, because the land was already occupied by a group of Mastaans, ( local goons) who could only be induced to vacate by a long and desperate struggle, involving a hunger strike by the children, and the help of local well-wishers.
The house is basically a brick structure covered by a tin roof. There is one long dormitory where the children sleep and study. Water supply is from a hand pumped tube well and there is one proper toilet and one makeshift arrangement for emergencies. And here she lives with her family of 28 children all of whom call her Ma.
The orphanage takes in strays; I use the word advisedly, in shame, as that is exactly what the children are. The oldest child, now hardly that, is 17. She is blind, and came to Uma 8 years ago. She was sent by a school teacher who requested Uma to give her a home as her aged father did not have the wherewithal to support her any more.
The youngest is 22 months old. She sleeps peacefully, a cherubic smile on her face, unaware that she was abandoned by her parents in Siliguri Station. The local police handed her over to Uma and here she has been ever since.
The children are well fed, that is they get basic food. All of them go to school except one who is mentally retarded. They get basic health care, courtesy some helpful doctors who are willing to see the children free of charge. But the children could really do with much more.