BANGALORE: Enter Alamba Charitable Trust premises at Hennur Bande and a group of physically-challenged girls will greet you. The girls, though able than most in graphic designing, tailoring and data entry, are worried about their future. There are around 40 people here whose stories tug at heartstrings. There is Siddappa hailing from Yadgir. He suffers from hemophilia and needs `10,000 per hospital visit. There are other physically-challenged girls such as Doulat from Tirupati, Suguna from Vetapalem.These people are cared for not by any philanthropist or an organisation, but by Rita, a physically-challenged woman from Ramachandrapuram in Bangalore.Rita’s tryst with Alamba began when, a few years ago, she joined as a committee member. Now, Rita, with the help of Rajesh and Sumithra, is trying her best to look after the inmates but is fast failing in her endeavour. “We have no government support to look after these physically-challenged girls and boys. I have to depend on friends and well wishers for provisions every month. Some of these girls are referred to us by the Association for Physically Disabled. They get `1,500 towards boarding and lodging facility but there are some who get no financial aid from any one,” explains Rita.She says that some of the inmates have received job offers from software and other companies but mobility comes in the way of their financial independence. “We are looking for a sponsor who can donate a used Maruti van. It will enable us to drop and pickup our inmates who get jobs. Being physically-challenged, they are not in a position to commute from one place to other place in Bangalore by BMTC bus. We can’t afford to provide autorickshaw facility,” she says. Also, the coming year may not herald happy news for the inmates as the owner of the house they are staying now for a nominal rent has asked them to vacate. “We are very grateful to the house-owner for supporting us for the last four years. He has been collecting only ` 5,000 as house rent. Now, we have no other option than vacating this house since he wants to move into this house. There are houses in the locality but the advance and the rent amount is very steep,” she says. She is praying for divine intervention to help those who are already sidelined by their families or by the society.
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