Mother NGO offers destitutes a second life with a roof above their heads and a space to call their own

Mother NGO for the homeless is not a known name nor does it feature high-profile names on its board. And its cause—providing shelter to destitutes—is not a ‘glamorous’ one either. Shakespeare once said, “All that glitters is not gold”. By that logic, one can conclude that some of ‘all’ which does not glitter, could be. The story of Mother NGO, quietly and diligently trying to provide Delhi’s homeless a roof, is an inspiring and a truly golden one. For instance, its name is an interesting choice, especially since the organisation does not exclusively associate itself to women and children’s welfare. So why call it thus? Dr Amod Kumar, the nodal officer of the NGO, explains that it is the ‘mother of all NGOs’. The story of its birth is tied to the Mission Convergence programme of the Delhi government. In 2008, Mission Convergence was launched to help the state government realise its goals of poverty alleviation and inclusive growth. To help the government, St Stephen’s Hospital pitched in help working in tandem with the state authorities. On its behalf, the hospital initiated a programme within the Mission Convergence to address issues of those homeless. As Dr Kumar explains, “After a lot of meetings, the state government decided to form six homeless resource centres (HRCs) covering the entire city, and one mother NGO to take care of these six.” Hence the name. Mother NGO not only does the ground work (rescue and rehabilitation) but acts as the interface between the government and the HRCs. Mother NGO officially opened its doors in 2009 with six centres. Today, it has grown to accommodate approximately 150 centres within the New Delhi area. Its impact has been such that other cities have been mandated, by the Supreme Court, to start similar programmes in their constituencies. At its helm is a passionate crusader— Dr Kumar who was always a man with a social bent of mind. His desire to do something in the socio-developmental field led him to pursue the medical profession. But that was not enough, thus, he joined Mother NGO. He prefers to be as far away from the limelight as possible. Like the man leading it, the organisation, too, remains high on impact but low profile. In a country plagued with several dire issues, it is interesting to note that Dr Kumar and his team believe lack of shelter to be a core problem. “Simply because no one thinks of the destitutes. They are completely invisible because their problem is so commonplace. We take it (homelessness) to be a fact of urban life. There are people who do not have homes. There are millions of citizens on the streets dying out of cold or heat—just because it is a common problem does not mean we do nothing about it.” Fortunately, Mother NGO’s efforts are backed by St Stephen’s Hospital, which has all the facilities ready to help malnourished, ailing destitutes who arrive at its shelters in an deplorable condition. Apart from providing low-cost shelters to those in need, Mother NGO also maintains a helpline— naturally, it is one of the most busy ones in the NCR area. When the NGO receives a call from a location, an ambulance is sent to pick up the homeless person and firstly admit him or her to the hospital. “Since destitute are people without immediate family, they are provided with an attendant, treated and then sent to our shelters where volunteers are responsible for their further care.” Then begins the search to find the family of the destitute—in case that particular person admits or remembers having one. In 2010, Mother NGO conducted a survey of Delhi and located approximately 55,955 homeless people on its streets—a figure that Dr Kumar admits haunts him when he roams the city streets. The NGO also takes the initiative to give an identity to the destitute—either through an Aadhar (Unique Identification), Beghar or a Voter’s Identity Card. “We take down their details, get photos clicked and help them get their identity back. Sometimes when a destitute person returns to the mainstream we also help him or her to open a bank account.” In a very short time, Mother NGO has been able to achieve quite a lot. However, not all journeys are smooth—their’s have seen its share of struggle. Dr Kumar points out that the major problem has been of funding— a surprising fact considering that the NGO is government funded. “Funding is erratic. Currently we are funded for 15-day projects. An important aspect of our work is the rescue process. Because we also send off rescue teams to disaster areas, Mother NGO dedicates a solid amount of time to this process. Rescue involves providing immediate medical care and bringing victims back to the shelter.” But the problem of funds is not going to stop the NGO from expanding operations further. Dr Kumar talks with almost child-like enthusiasm about the NGO’s future. “We want to develop more rescue and relief programmes and link those to disaster services plan, where we will offer practical training to Caring Angels (volunteers) so that they become adept at handling emergencies.” Dr Kumar also plans to open specific shelters for destitute women and old people and start on-campus residences for destitute children.