It was her deep personal loss which spurred petite Anjali Amjad to give wings to two humanitarian projects to reach out to children and women in distress.
The initiatives are named SPEAK and Super Moms! While SPEAK was initiated for speech and hearing-impaired children, Super Moms was a totally different concept. Egged on by the success of the first enterprise, she roped in a bunch of very special friends and started the next venture called Super Moms.
“There’s a reason behind this special name,” says Anjali. Only mothers are allowed membership to Super Moms. The initiative was founded by 10 mothers from in and around Thrissur. The members include teachers, doctors and psychiatrists. Apart from these 10 moms, their very close friends too are allowed to join in as members if they are so inclined. “We meet up at my home for discussions and plans,” says Anjali.
Looking back at what got her going into these noble causes, Anjali has a lot of painful memories to share. Life was unalloyed bliss for her till she turned 20. As the daughter of a doctor couple, P K Mohanan and Pankajam, she never knew what it was to be anxious, worried or even angry. The going was smooth, but her life turned topsy-turvy when her mother was diagnosed with cancer. The disease literally ate away her mother when both her legs had to be amputated.
Her mother’s suffering and eventual death send Anjali pondering over the futility of life and people’s helplessness in the face of forces beyond their control. This personal suffering motivated her to reach out to others. When Super Moms was founded, the onus was on each member to come up with a socially relevant project. The first hurdle to be crossed was the issue of funds. The members came up with a plan to set apart a fixed sum from their salaries every month towards fund-building. As their first gesture, the moms provided medical aid to kids rendered helpless by cerebral palsy. Thereafter, the group provided financial help to poor women in the form of interest-free loans. These loans were given to women seeking funds to educate their kids or provide adequate medical treatment for their ailing children.
Not happy with the current system of distributing food and clothes for the poor, Super Moms took a few strides ahead and initiated a venture, “Care a Kid”, as part of the main programme. The scheme stipulates that each mom undertake to look after a child from an impoverished family for a year. Thus a particular child becomes the responsibility of one mother for a whole year.
There are no hard and fast rules as to how each mom should treat her “child”. They make visits to their kids’ homes periodically and give them all that they need like books, clothes, medicines and toys. Super Moms, however, insist just one thing before the moms set out to see their kids for the year, and that is to take their children too along with them.
Anjali sees this as a conscious effort to instill in GenNxt an empathy and love for the suffering millions. She believes that once their kids see the enormity of suffering around, they too will surely be inspired to help those in need and distress. This should be a positive influence on today’s kids, says Anjali.
Anjali happens to have as her child the daughter of a migrant worker who lives close by. Whenever Anjali goes across to meet the child, her children Ashlin and Aamna too accompany her.
Apart from the two projects, Anjali also launched a venture called “Young Hands”. It aims to create awareness among youth about social issues and to encourage them to take up philanthropy.
Anjali teaches English at the Don Bosco Higher Secondary School in Thrissur. Husband Amjad is a builder.
The young social worker says behind all her social commitments lie the solid support and backing of her husband.
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