Some hope for Mrs. Sagar

When we last wrote about Mrs. Sagar - things seemed pretty hope-less. Her mind was wandering. She was emaciated. She had a racking cough. Her two under-fives were clinging to her - one of whom was suffering from a broken leg. Mrs. Sagar was destitute and mentally confused - lying on the street hoping that some-how she would get back her home that she had sold...

We admitted her at the JSK centre - and have been caring for her for the past few days.

Already some rays of hope are appearing.

Mrs. Sagar and the kids have been eating copiously. They are not always the politest of company - but their appetites are certainly healthy. And it has already shown effects. The kids have just opened up and are full of smiles.

We were able to show Rinki, her 2 year old daughter to an orthopaedician - and get a cast put on her leg. She is happily scooting around in her cast - and loves to be carried. Omkar - her 7 year old is full of smiles. There is so much that even the most simple inputs can do.

Our staff have loved this family. Cleaned them. Cared for them. Fed and prayed with them. Shared from the Bible and sang songs. As Sheba has been doing her night rounds - she has been seeing a slow but clear change in Mrs. Sagar and the kids.

Sheba has assessed Mrs. Sagar medically and we are surprised that she does not seem to have TB after all. She certainly has a chest infection, which is responding to antibiotics. We have assessed Mrs. Sagar's HIV progression and want to take the next step in her treatment - but that is dependent on her having a stable place to stay.

Mrs. Sagar has started to talk about her situation. Its amazing what a quiet place and willing ears can do to a person who was so dazed and confused before. Mrs. Sagar has opened up a bit and tells us that she was fairly settled with her parents and brother in a village near Motihari in the East Champaran District of Bihar. However, she decided she wanted to come back to Thane. There were probably some harsh words between her and the family members - and she left - taking the kids half-way across India, only to end up lying on the street.

Yesterday evening Mrs. Sagar and her children had a beautiful and simple time of prayer where they committed themselves into God's hands.

Amazingly - and as a total answer to prayer - we have been able to contact her brother in Bihar. He wants her to come back. The children had been in school in the village - and the family is willing to welcome Mrs. Sagar and the children again.

Today we also found out that our dear friends in the ACT (AIDS Counselling and Training) programme of the EHA Hospital at Raxaul are active in the district Mrs. Sagar is from! We are waiting to hear from them whether they know about the village that she is from, but are excited about the possibility of them following-up on her - and putting her in touch with local churches in the area who would like to care for this family.

And so we are seeing some steps forward. We are still not out of the woods with Mrs. Sagar and her two kids. They have many odds stacked against them - but we are grateful to see a shift from hopelessness and confusion - to hope and the outlines of a plan for them.

Thanks for being along with us for this journey. Your thoughts and prayers are very appreciated.