Jaipur: At a time when a five-member team from New Delhi is set to aid investigation into the cause of death of 12 inmates in the last fortnight at the rehabilitation home for the mentally challenged at Jamdoli, Jaipur, here is reason to peek into the daily routine of inmates at the Mother Teresa Home for the Destitute and Dying at C-Scheme.
Many of the 200 inmates at this home are also mentally unwell. Several have physical disabilities. Many of those here arrived at the home after being found abandoned and alone, sometimes with maggot-infested wounds.
Sister Molly, who leads the team of nuns at this home, is busy distributing gifts on May 1, after workers and inmates played a game of musical chairs. The gifts are wrapped in newspaper, no expensive gift wrapping. The winners peel off the wrapper to find a pair of rubber chappals or a T-shirt – inexpensive things of daily use.
The Mother Teresa Home is Spartan and tidy. There is an air of lightness and joy, and one can see the occasional visitor dropping off a donation – of cooking oil, fruits or wheat flour.
The inmates stop to greet visitors and sometimes shake hands with them. If one is keen on seeing the rooms inmates occupy, one is offered a chance, provided inmates are not resting and in need of quiet or privacy. There are several beds laid out in rows, all neatly made.
“Ours is a home for the destitute. Perhaps Jamdoli cannot be compared to this, because all our people are not mentally disabled. But they are given a good diet and kept clean. General physician JD Parekh arrives every week to conduct check-ups. We also have Dr Pradeep Sharma, a psychiatrist, examine our people,” says Sr Molly.
A surprised Dr Parekh told Times of India, “Jamdoli, I think, cannot at all be compared to the home run by the nuns. I see them at work, and I know that they work with dedication and selflessness. There are people unable to eat, and they feed them.
They clean those who cannot clean up after themselves. They accompany the sick to hospital and get them medicines. They work not just efficiently, but with love. How can you compare the two?”
The five-member team from Delhi arriving in Jaipur comprises a pediatrician, epidemiologist and microbiologist. Will they notice the difference that love might make?