Clothing and personal hygiene items collected in Abbotsford earlier this year have now been delivered to a girls’ home in India.
Deesh Sekhon held the Save a Girl Clothing and Supplies Drive in January, collecting 170 pounds of items for the New Unique Home for Girls in Jalandhar, India.
She was unable to make the trip, but family members – including her father, sister, niece and her niece’s friend – delivered some of the goods to the home on March 15. More will be sent next year.
Sekhon said the group were so emotionally moved that they were in tears as they dropped off the bags to the home, which has been caring since 1993 for girls ages newborn to 16 who have been abandoned because they are female.
They spent the afternoon with the girls and Prakash Kaur, who manages the home and is referred to as “Momma.”
Kaur told them stories of how she had rescued many of the girls from the sides of roads or fields.
“The week prior to them coming, the home had rescued another baby girl found in nearby bushes. She was bloodied and scratched up, left for dead,” Sekhon said.
The baby is now thriving in her new home.
Others came to the home because they were born to unwed mothers who did not have support, or because they were born to families who already had daughters and couldn’t bear the cost of raising another one.
As they toured the facility, the group heard an older girl off to the side saying, “At least someone out there cares,” Sekhon said.
They also visited the site of the new home, which is currently under construction and will be able to house more girls.
Sekhon said the girls were excited to receive the clothing and other items, including toothbrushes, soap, shampoo and washcloths.
She said she is currently working on other initiatives to help the girls and others like them.
Sekhon can be reached via her Facebook page (listed under “Deesh Sekhon”) or by phone at 604-825-8088.