SEAL Ashram Set To Reunite A Record Of 25 Rescued People With Their Families

SEAL (Social & Evangelical Association For Love) Ashram, situated in Vangani near Mumbai, is all set to help reunite 25 destitute people with their families.

Rev.K.M.Philip, director of SEAL Ashram, said: “The covid pandemic has been our daunting reality since the year 2020, and when the government in 2021 announced the vaccination drive for everyone, we all sighed with relief as everyone of us was desperate to get vaccinated. However, amidst all of this, there have been those marginalised people in our society, the destitute and the forgotten, who occupy the peripheries of the mind of our nation. While people flocked in numbers and registered for vaccination, we collectively forgot that there are some of our society’s most vulnerable members who, due to past traumas and stressful situations, were unable to obtain vaccination because an Aadhar Card was required then and they didn’t have it.”

“When everyone in our nation was desperate to get the vaccination at the earliest as the fear of the virus was lurking amidst us in the second wave, we were worried about the rescued and destitute people under us who had no Aadhar Card to make them eligible for the COVID-19 Vaccination. Due to their traumatic experiences with no memory of their past and their documents, it was difficult for them to get vaccinated as the Aadhar Card was mandatory. In such an unfortunate situation, getting them new Aadhar Cards was the most important thing and we were painfully lost in our thoughts and were unable to provide them with the vaccination which was the need of the hour,” he added.

“It was at this time that Dr. Abraham Mathai, our Chief Patron (Chairman Harmony Foundation and Former Vice-Chairman – Minorities Commission)spoke to the Collector Ms.Nidhi Chaudhary and reminded her that every citizen had a Right to Life which was enshrined in the Constitution,” Mr Philip added further.

“Thereafter, Collector Nidhi Chaudhary took the bold and out of the box  decision of setting up the Aadhar Camp at the Ashram to ensure that these people get their Aadhar Cards which was an important document for their vaccination. After Ms.Chaudhary took the groundbreaking decision to conduct Aadhar camps, around 60% of the inmates were successful in getting their Aadhar. However, around 30% did not get their Aadhar as it got rejected with an error saying “duplicate data found”. Fortunately, these 30% too were given their vaccination after the Collector took the bold decision to ensure that they get vaccinated despite the errors in their documentation,” he went on to add.

“Thereafter, we diligently continued the follow up with the Aadhar Regional Office in Mumbai for those 30% people whose Aadhars were rejected, the gracious Aadhar officials visited SEAL Ashram and conducted Aadhar camp reinitiated the biometrics process through which we came to know around twenty five people have been identified with their original addresses,” the SEAL Ashram director informed.

Mr Philip said it has been a monumental achievement in SEAL Ashram’s history as their main focus is to reunite these destitute people with their families at the earliest and to reunite 25 people at a time has been a historical achievement for them.

“Since 1999, we have been dedicated to the mission of rescuing destitute and missing children from the railway platforms and streets of Mumbai and Navi Mumbai. Our main focus is to treat them for their mental and physical ailments and reunite them with their long-awaited families. We are immensely grateful to Dr. Abraham Mathai, Ms. Nidhi Chaudhary, and the Aadhar authorities that we have been successful in identifying the original addresses of our rescued people. We have been diligently working towards the betterment of our society, wherein our humanitarian endeavours are myriad, and we hope that this story will inspire everyone to follow the path of compassion and love for one and all,” Mr Philip said.