It was a tough task for Sister Lucy Kurien to set up Maher - a home for distressed women and children. Many were critical of her initiatives, but she remained undeterred and started the organisation in 1997. The home shelters 200 women and 600 children. Sister Lucy was honoured with Global Women’s Summit 2011 Leadership Award in the US recently for her work. Sister Lucy tells DNA about the 24 projects run by Maher in Shirur, Haveli and Khed talukas, Ratnagiri city and in other parts of the country.  Please share some details about Maher?Maher is an interfaith and caste-free organisation providing shelter and care to destitute and battered women and children. Vadhu Budruk, about 32 km from Pune, is its main centre of work. Maher is currently working on 24 projects. Among these there are three most prominent projects. The first is ‘Mamatadham’, a home for abandoned and battered women. The second is ‘Kishoredham’, a home for orphans and children from broken homes and the third one is ‘Vatsalyadham’, a home for mentally disturbed women. The other projects are complementary to these three. Over the last 14 years, Maher has helped as many as 1,500 women and as many children. How did you think of starting Maher?I was working with an organisation that served distressed women. One night, a pregnant woman came to me asking for shelter. She was afraid her husband would kill her. I had limitations and I could not help her. That night her drunk husband killed her. The traumatic incident changed my life. With the help of my friends and a generous donor, I started Maher in 1997. How did you deal with the bias about organisations run by missionaries?I had to face a lot of criticism initially, but I continued to work. Some used to call me for functions and criticise our work in public. Some tried to create hurdles in the work of Maher and urged the villagers to go against us, but that did not deter us. Gradually, the villagers started trusting Maher.

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Religion has to be followed in mind and spirit. Following rituals without realising the true message of religion is not faith. Maher is unique in founding the interfaith tradition of working. It does not look at community service devoid of religious context. But it believes that the religious context need not refer to any single religion or ideology. We try to imbibe this ideal in the minds of the children through celebrations of all festivals. What’s the future plan for Maher? Maher has opened a new home, Rising Star, for college-going boys and Karunalaya, a home for aged men. Maher also plans to set up a home for girls attending college; a production-training facility; a library chain in surrounding villages and a home for women affected by HIV/AIDS. Finance is a limiting factor, but I am hopeful that these projects will see the light of the day.