For this social worker, every day is Father’s Day

It had got him thinking in his pre-activist avatar, on why the govt is not doing anything for the poorest of the poor.A few years later, while visiting the red light area of Sonapur for research, Philip found himself cradling a sickly abandoned nine-month-old baby, because his mother, a sex worker, said she cannot afford to take care of him.Since none of the orphanages in Mumbai were willing to admit this baby, because he was HIV positive, Philip had decided to rent a room in Panvel to keep this baby and start his own NGO. "Besides rescued men, women and senior citizens, we also have many children at our shelter, who have been admitted to schools in Panvel region, and all of them have mentioned my name as their father in the school registers," said Philip, who is happy that many of his rescued kids have grown up over the years and settled down.The chief patron of SEAL and founder of Harmony Foundation, Abraham Mathai, commented: "Father's Day is a time to honour those amazing fathers who nurture, protect and uplift with unconditional love. ''Amid this basket of love and happiness, there are also a few sorrowful things that Philip always keeps close to him — like a plastic begging bowl with Rs 65.50 in it, marked as ‘Tears Of Vidya — Treasure Of A Tiny Life'.In May 2001, Philip had come across a fragile, ailing girl, Vidya, who was simply lying on the railway FOB of Bhandup station, while her parents put this begging bowl in front of her.

Author: Times Of India

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