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A home of their own
By Kumudini Hettiarachchi
Nalini was brought to Mulleriyawa in 1994, sent there by the courts after being arrested on vagrancy charges far away from home. She could not remember anything – was it a case of amnesia? Classified as mentally ill she was at Mulleriyawa even after being cured because no one knew her address.

She herself says she is from Colombo and has vague memories of working in a cooperative store. Though her file indicates that she is epileptic and schizophrenic, in the 11 years she has been at Mulleriyawa no seizures have been seen.

Her close friend, Kusum, declared deaf, dumb and psychotic, was brought to Mulleriyawa from down south in 1993. Like all the “inmates” at Mulleriyawa, the procedure is to admit mentally ill patients to the Angoda Hospital, treat them and once classified as cured send them over to Mulleriyawa’s Unit 2.

As most of them have been abandoned by kith and kin, they are doomed to a life sentence of despair and hopelessness. Institutionalized even though they can get back to their community and rightly should, they waste away, without love……….until death. The “long-stay” unit of the Mulleriyawa Hospital records some of the patients as being in the hospital for over 20 years.

But on October 3, 2005, life changed dramatically for both Nalini and Kusum, when they walked out of Ward 19 for the last time, with their worldly possessions in two plastic bags.

Now Nalini and Kusum are on the threshhold of a new life, little knowing that they are the pioneers in a novel project being tried out for the first time in Sri Lanka.

This pilot project, the brainchild of a dedicated group from the congregation of St. Andrew’s Church, Kollupitiya, with funds flowing in from Netherlee Church in Glasgow, Scotland, will provide a fresh lease of life to these abandoned and homeless women. The group that has been bringing a little sunshine, cheer and laughter to the women of Mulleriyawa over the past 30 years, has taken a revolutionary step.

From an institution to a comfortable home of their own, in tranquil surroundings, is what Nalini and Kusum have got. “They are not mentally ill. They are suitable for discharge and are ill-placed,” says the Project Manager who was insistent that her name be kept out of the press.

Set in the suburbs of Colombo, she herself chose the 22-perch block of land with a house on it. “We renovated the cottage and adapted it to suit the needs of Nalini and Kusum. Then we found a house mother and sister to look after them. They are not supervisors but part of a small family unit,” she says showing us around the spacious and airy house painted green to have a soothing and calming effect. Every minute detail has been worked out. The menus have been drawn up and the routine work schedule put up in the fitted pantry. All emergency numbers are listed near the telephone.

Is it just a clinical arrangement? When Nalini steps out of the bathroom that she takes pride in cleaning, there are hugs and warm greetings between the Project Manager and Nalini who is urged to show off her beautiful handwork and also crochet work. “There was an English book on the table when we brought them here. Nalini took it up and attempted to read it, saying that she could not see. We took her to an optician and she will be getting her glasses soon, then she can read Great Expectations by Charles Dickens which we have given her,” says the Project Manager as we sit in the verandah with Nalini and Kusum and look at the well-tended garden and listen to the chirping of the birds. Kusum is dressed up in a clean frock and beads round her neck to go with the Project Manager to check out her hearing.

With enthusiasm, the Project Manager details Nalini’s and Kusum’s forays into the outside world, 10 years after being confined at Mulleriyawa. “They have gone to the boutique with the house mother and also to the temple. They are leading a normal life — cook, do routine housework, eat, the usual things like in any other home in Sri Lanka,” she says.

With her background of nursing and experience in resettling 98 people with learning difficulties back in the community after long stays in hospital, the Project Manager who is from England feels strongly that God picked on her to get this project off the ground. “He forced me and brought me here, kicking and screaming, not willing to do this,” she says adding that she is a Muslim who has embraced Christianity. “My husband was diagnosed with a terminal illness a few years ago and he had to undergo an operation. I rushed down to the chapel in the hospital in London and pleaded with Jesus to save his life. I then made a commitment that I would work for Him. My husband is okay now and many times I have tried to back out of my commitment but something happens to make me continue the work.”

Alarm bells begin to ring, with all the suspicion and hostility generated by allegations of conversions in Sri Lanka in recent times, only to be dispelled as soon as one steps into the cottage Nalini and Kusum call their home. On a shelf taking pride of place is a statue of the Samadhi Buddha.

The humble ambition of the Project Manager and all those who have worked towards the goal of integrating the women from Ward 19 into the community is to bring out another four to the cottage. “They are brought here after a thorough screening by a panel consisting of Consultant Psychiatrist Dr. Wimal de Alwis, Nursing Sister Jayawardena, Senior Psychiatric Social Worker Anula Madumabandara and myself. The hospital staff is very cooperative and supports us immensely.”

What of sustainability? Enough and more money has been raised by the Netherlee Parish Church in Glasgow, Scotland which has not only reached out across the miles to help the forgotten women of Mulleriyawa but has also provided electricity to the village of Thalpadiwella and supported a Boy Scout troop at St. Andrew’s.

“In 2002, Netherlee Church held a special fundraiser to celebrate their 75th anniversary. The 50,000 sterling pounds have been channelled to resettle six people from Mulleriyawa. The house and the land were bought from this money and the balance invested, the interest of which will meet the running costs for five months each year. Netherlee also sends us their annual Harvest Festival thanksgiving offering. Other funds are raised by us in Sri Lanka in the Thrift Shop and Bazaar,” says the Project Manager stressing that Netherlee Church has guaranteed that they will always make up any shortfall every year. “This is a wake up call to other organizations and people to help the women of Mulleriyawa. The ripple effect should come about.”

As The Sunday Times bids goodbye to Nalini and Kusum, the words of Neil Armstrong when he landed on the moon though in a different context, keep echoing ….“One small step for Nalini and Kusum but a huge leap for the women at Mulleriyawa.”
(Names have been changed to protect the identities of the women)

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