"SIWOL, an organization founded by a handful of French young women, raises awareness regarding women conditions in India and supports an orphanage in Siraguppa, a small town in Karnataka, India.
As a start: a meeting
In 2004, Chloé Stahl, a young student at Science Po (a French University), goes to India in order to « move away » as she puts it. There she discovers a very different world. « It took me two months before I could understand where I was! Two-year-old children showed me the gestures of everyday life », she remembers. For one year, she lives and works in immersion in a small town of South India, for the NGO founded by Prema Kundargi. Prema is working with some scheduled casts women, who are ‘holy prostitutes’ called devadasi and who suffer from discrimination. Prema’s NGO helps them to change their life and to build a new activity. “Women in distress came every morning to ask Prema for help”, tells Chloé.
Back in France, the young lady wants to go on with her voluntary work. With a handful of French girls passionate about India, she creates SIWOL, which means ‘Support Indian WOmen’s Life’.
Then, an orphanage
From the very beginning, the organisation raises awareness regarding the devadasi’s condition and support Prema’s NGO.
When the latter decided in 2009 to open an orphanage to take care of the devadasi’s children whose mothers are decimated by AIDS, SIWOL decides to support the initiative. “Prema was an orphan herself, for years she had been holding this project so dear”, Chloé explains.
SIWOL’s help becomes both financial and human, by arranging voluntary missions on the spot.
A support which makes SIWOL the “backbone of the orphanage” in Prema’s words.
About twenty donors contribute to about half of the orphanage’s functioning expenses. Those amount to € 10.000 a month. 34 orphans find there board and lodging, and education (they go to the neighbouring English private medium school). They also get “a lot of affection there”, Céline Verney adds, who discovered the orphanage during a voluntary mission.
Boosting children’s self-confidence
As a volunteer, and while she was still a student, Céline taught for instance geography and photography to the orphans. “Like most people, they are very fond of photography. They were so happy; they had never touched a camera before. We worked on their self-image. The society gives them a very negative image of themselves. We tried to improve this”, explains Céline.
During her stay, the young woman notices a little girl who has just arrived in the orphanage, she looks very withdrawn. After two months, “she laughed, communicated with the others, the transformation was incredible!” Céline explains.
Moved by the impact of the orphanage, Céline became SIWOL’s president. Chloé remains one of the active members of the organisation. Both young women communicate with Prema by email every week. “They lived in Siraguppa and so it is easy to talk to them about the orphanage’s problems. They understand quickly”, says Prema, gratefully. “Prema is an extremely generous person, very smart” Chloé reveals.
“Without this place and without Prema, the girls would have probably died or would have been abandoned in the street. We have taken on a personal responsibility to them for at least fifteen years!” Chloé adds. She reveals that she saved some money for the NGO, in case the donations decrease”.
This article has been published on the generation-en-action.com website. You can find the original text in its French version by clicking on the following link:
Thibault lescuyer, Youphil.com
(Please note that this article has been published in French only. This is a free and non-official translation.)
