Dr. Harrison in 2006
I have a hundred stories for a hundred lives lived just within this lifetime. In this story I am the Founder of Childlife Preserve Shishur Sevay, a model of inclusive non-institutional care for orphan girls previously housed in a government institution, having already been rejected for adoption. Some have severe disabilities. All carried wounds, some visible, some buried deep within their memories.
This story began when I was 17 years old. I’d written an essay for school about “The Meaning of Life” in which I saw myself acquiring the education and skills to one day care for orphans in need. I had just seen some pictures of Korean orphans when a friend returned from the war. Something clicked; something that has lasted a lifetime.
I adopted my Indian daughter from Kolkata in 1984 and raised her in the US. That is my connection to Kolkata, a very personal one. Kolkata is family. I also have an older daughter to whom I gave birth. I raised both them as a single parent. All my stories have twists and turns to them, all 100 of them.
In 2000 I decided we should visit Kolkata. I had just been through breast cancer and didn’t know how long I would live. I had also wondered what happens to the children not adopted. I knew India needed to provide for its orphan children and not just ship them abroad. When we visited, and in subsequent visits I made, it was clear that mostly these children languished. I also realized that there was little hope or expectation that anything really could be done for them. The phrase I kept hearing was, ‘Nothing Can Be Done.”
I sold my house in 2006. My younger daughter graduated from Barnard College and the older one from New York Law School and I left for India to start Childlife Preserve Shishur Sevay. The Society received its registration in June 2006. We received our License in January 2007 and 12 girls were sent to us by Order of the WB Child Welfare Committee for care rehabilitation, four of them with profound disabilities. I realized quickly that what the children needed most was a “mother” at home checking their homework at night. I also learned how much they needed each other. Bonds of genuine love grew between the abled and the children with severe disabilities. I am mother to them but their strength and security is also in their connections to each other.
Shishur Sevay is not well-known. I used to refer to us as a stealth orphanage. Some of that was because I couldn’t stretch myself or our resources any farther, and also because it was hard for me to keep hearing people say it couldn’t be done. In my relationship with the government I was simply a nice lady from America who liked children. I shed the titles, roles, privileges of my earlier life. I also endured death threats and all the other obstacles to creating something good in the face of a culture of mistrust and cynicism. I needed time to learn about these children. I understand why people felt nothing could be done, because some of these children are the first to tell you not to bother, that nothing can be done for them. I needed time, time to think, to learn, to try approaches that worked or sometimes didn’t work. The children needed time, a lot of time, a lot of safety and protection, and a lot of support as they began to risk “trying.”
Ten years later Shishur Sevay is a shining example of what CAN be done. The girls are thriving. Two are studying for Class X Boards. Shishur Sevay is a leader in inclusive living and inclusive education. We have caught the attention of researchers at Vanderbilt University and have been studied as a unique case of inclusion of abled and differently abled. We created our own school Ichche Dana Inclusive School, as after six years we gave up on outside schooling for our children.
We are leaders in advanced communication technology. We were among the first in India to use the Tobii Eye Tracker for our girls with severe cerebral palsy. They are able now to communicate with us using their eyes to control the computer. For them and for us this is a profound life changing experience. Our girls are showing what can be done. We are doing it IN India so that the girls have opportunity without the loss of their homeland, language, culture, heritage and religion. In the first week I showed them the map of India and began to teach them that they are Indian, that this is their country, and that they belong. Although I am American and a catalyst, we are strong because of our Indian staff of teachers, caretakers, accountants, administrators, and Board. Each year we have passed our inspections and the government has thanked us for our efforts. India gave me the gift of my daughter, who lives happily in the US. But I am like so many fortunate Indians who want to give back for the gift I have received.
Our infrastructure is strong. We have received the GuideStar Gold Seal 2017 for transparency of our records, a goal from the beginning. Our records and processes are open. We want people to understand what we do and how we do it.
What must be the next part of this story?
- Establish lifetime care, inclusive and inter-generational for those who cannot live independently
- Establish Shishur Sevay as a model of inclusive care in the spectrum of alternatives to institutionalisation
- Conduct training in inclusive living and education in the community and within the professional community
- Assist in the creation of other homes based on the model of Shishur Sevay but adapted to the character and needs of the community
- Inspire hope and dreams by evoking positive inclusive experiences with the differently abled
- Contribute to the building of an Inclusive India
For this, we are no longer stealth, and I am no longer quiet. I am here to tell you what I have learned in raising these abandoned and rejected children. I will share what they have taught me, what I have learned. And I will share my adventure of constant growth and emergence. I’m back.
2017: We Are Here. We Are Building An Inclusive India
Recent Comments