Maher Ashram

It was in the year 1991, when one evening while Sr. Lucy was working at HOPE, that a pregnant woman came to her asking for shelter. The woman believed that her husband, a chronic alcoholic, wanted to kill her to bring another woman into his house. At that moment Sr.Lucy was unable to help her, but promised to do something for her the next day.
In the words of Sr. Lucy: “Brought up in a secure family environment in Kerala, I was unaware that one night could make such a difference to the life of a woman. That very night, her husband, in a drunken rage, set her a fire. I actually saw the blazing woman and heard her shrieks of agony. We put the fire out and took her to a hospital, but she died of 90% burns. With her died her seven month old foetus. I was devastated. I wanted to run away from the world, its cruelty and wickedness. My friends dissuaded me from becoming a recluse. Fr. Francis D’sa was a great source of strength and support and suggested doing something about it instead of running away.”
It was then that Sr. Lucy decided that she had to create a home for abused and traumatized women who could feel secure, cared for and wanted, irrespective of Religion, Caste or Social Status. This was the need of the hour.
The first house was built in Vadhu-Badruk, a village on the outskirts of Pune, to serve as a refuge for women in distress. Women who are ill-treated and thrown out of the house by their spouses and in-laws, widows shunned by both parents and in-laws and mothers with infants and young children with nowhere to go.
Maher was only created to help victims of a situation. What was needed was to change the mindset of the people who put women and children in these situations. This was done through various awareness programmes and by creating support systems like crèches to help working women, kindergartens or ‘Balwadis’, tuition classes and self help groups (SHG’s), that helped villagers understand their rights, duties, responsibilities and place in society and to unite and stand up to unscrupulous landlords and moneylenders.
Irrespective of their religion and caste, all are welcome, treated equally and given the freedom to practice their faith. All festivals are celebrated with the same gusto. Be it Diwali, Id, Christmas or Budh Purnima.
With over 147 employees, Maher has its presence in over 85 rural communities around Pune. There are 13 Balwadis or kindergartens, 4 tuition classes, 21 Bal Sadans, 1 crèche and close to 250 self help groups
Today Maher operates in 85 rural communities around Pune and has taken under its umbrella several hundred women and children.