Karunalaya: A haven for poor, dying, destitute and abandoned

LEOMEL is a voluntary organization of Belagavi committed to the welfare of dying, destitute and abandoned people serving the society and running Karunalaya home for almost two decades. The interesting part, it functions all on its own through generous donations from family and friends of Anita Rodricks, the noble soul behind this organization dedicated to the welfare of the less privileged brethren of our society.

Karunalaya is based at Navage village, about 14 kilometres from Belagavi on Jamboti and VTU road. It is run and managed by members of the LEOMEL Society. Fr Victor D'cruz is the honorary President of the LEOMEL society shouldering multiple responsibilities in running the organization. He is also a Priest serving in the Belgavi Diocese. In an interaction, Anita Rodricks found time to trace the history of LEOMEL society and Karunalaya, odds on the way and the smooth ride later and so far. Excerpts from the interview:

Q: What made you start Karunalaya in Belagavi?
Anita Rodricks: I was a widow at a very young age and had three children when my husband died. So I joined the St Paul's School as a Teacher to look after my children and bring them up. During the school holidays, I used to volunteer my services to 'Sneha Sadan' at Hubballi started by the Nuns of Mother Theresa. This work appealed to me a lot. Once my children finished their education and started working I resigned from my job in the St Paul's as a Teacher and Head Mistress of the Primary section. Then I bought a small piece of land measuring two acres from whatever money I had managed to save. I formed a society LEOMEL with like-minded friends; LEOMEL society is a home for the dying and the destitute and we registered the society in 2004.

Q: How was the beginning and how many residents do you have at present in Karunalaya?
Anita Rodricks: Initially, we just constructed one small dormitory with two portions, men on one side and ladies on the other. To start with we only had five residents and as the numbers increased we went on constructing a bigger dormitory and now we look after 75 destitute. I also have a staff strength of 15, who live on campus and help me to look after these people. I also stay there only.

Q: What type of people are the residents of Karunalaya?
Anita Rodricks: My residence has people belonging to all races, creeds, religions and sexes as we don't have any such barrier to admitting the needy. Most of them are mentally ill, paralyzed, and handicapped. So, we have to look after them with personal care.

Q: How will the residents be, when they get admitted?
Anita Rodricks: They come to us in a very bad shape. We clean them up and settle them. In due course, they become very happy and comfortable to be there. In fact, you can see the change on their faces and a feeling of happiness over a period of time as they feel they have a roof over their head, clothing, medicine, food and everything is taken care of. My staff are also equally good as they work a lot to take care of the sick and are available 24x7. They look after my people very well.

Q: How do you manage the expenditure involved in running the institution for a noble cause?
Anita Rodricks: We run this home purely on a charity basis and manage the activities with whatever donations we get from donors and well-wishers. There are many people who come forward to help us with medicines, with provisions and things like that. Fortunately and so far, we have never fallen short of anything. Thanks to the almighty, God has been very kind to us and he is always helping us to run this institution smoothly and in trouble trouble-free manner. My society members also keep helping me in whatever help is required. I keep briefing them during the annual general body meetings on the ongoing and the requirements and they are always there to extend a helping hand.

Q: Have you ever approached the government agencies seeking monetary assistance?
Anita Rodricks: I had earlier approached the government authorities for help in vain. We were facing a huge problem in getting an electricity connection. I ran from pillar to post to no avail. Finally, my son arranged for the Transformer to ensure the supply of power. Even for water supply also we had a lot of trouble. In the beginning, I used to take drinking water from my home here(Belagavi) to Karunalaya. Then we drilled the borewell to meet the water requirements and now you can say that we are well settled as far as basic requirements are concerned and do not have much of problems.

Q: Do you have branches elsewhere?
Anita Rodricks: I have another branch in Goa, almost a similar branch. But we only look after men there. It is functioning in a bungalow donated by a family and unlike here in Belagavi, we haven't built or added anything there. There are about 15 old aged and physically challenged people whom we are taking care of.

Q: What are the activities of the Goa Centre?
Anita Rodricks: There is a mental hospital at Bambolim also known as The Institute of Psycharity and Human Behaviour (IPHB). They treat mentally ill orphan children, who keep roaming around the villages. The village Panchayats send them to the mental hospital. Once these children become calmer, the hospital sends them to take care of, post-hospitalization as they have nowhere to go. So we keep them.

Q: Who are your main donors?
Anita Rodricks: Besides the general public and our regular donors, my children help me out. Whenever I am short of anything my children come forward to help me out. I also have friends and relatives all over who keep bailing me out during emergencies.

Q: What about tax benefits to donors under 80G?
Anita Rodricks: Yeah, we have a provision under 80G. Whoever donates, we give them a receipt to avail the income tax benefits.

Q: How do you feel doing this humanitarian service?
Anita Rodricks: I am very happy being there looking after these people and it gives me tremendous joy. I don't feel that someone else has pushed this on me but I am doing it on my own.

Q: Why did you feel like venturing into this kind of social service?
Anita Rodricks: Because I worked with the Sisters in Hubballi. They were looking after this type of people, patients and feeding them, cleaning them and things like that appealed to me. And I felt I should give to society also as God has blessed me with so much. My children were very good students; they studied well, and they are working well. So I thought of giving back to society in the form of my time, resources and income.

Q: Generally people with a bondage of family and children do not think of undertaking such tasks. It's usually the saints and monks who think of doing something like this. How did it happen in your case?
Anita Rodricks: Maybe, because I had a lot of difficulties after my husband died. You know, while in service in the school, there were many widows and poor people approaching me for help and advice on the challenges they were facing. I always used to cite them as my own example and the hard way of coming up in life. After a few years of struggle when the children grow up, you will learn to be on your own.

Q: At the end of the day, how do you feel?
Anita Rodricks: At the end of the day, I feel very happy, satisfied and contented with what I have been able to do so far from 2004.

-Manohar Yadavatti