Even though these are pandemic times, the Greater Chennai Corporation’s (GCC) Shelter for Women on Rajaji Salai wore a festive look a few days ago. From cakes and sumptuous food to cradles, the residents and staff of the shelter came together to organise the naming ceremony of a newborn. A woman with a mild mental illness, who is a resident of the shelter, had given birth to a baby boy. The child has been named Poovan.
The staff of the Shelter for Urban Homeless Cell (SUHC) under the GCC, has been rescuing homeless people in the city and taking them to shelter conducting COVID-19 tests. On March 25, the staff found a woman, suspected to be around 35 years old, sitting near Dr. MGR Chennai Central Station. “We took her to the shelter run by SIGA Community Service Guild on Rajaji Salai and found that she was speaking Bengali and was not able to recollect when she came to Chennai. She recalled that she was brought for some work. We found that she was pregnant and took her to the doctor. It was found that she was suffering from a mild mental illness,” said Asha Parekh Nandinee, city-level coordinator, SUHC.
The woman reportedly did not recall if she was married. “On May 29, she gave birth to a baby boy at the shelter itself and we took her to the hospital after that. We decided to organise the naming ceremony of the child, and staff of the shelter brought a cradle, cake and other snacks. We decorated the shelter and some elderly residents of the shelter prepared food,” said Divya Vadivel, co-ordinator and counsellor of the shelter.
S. Balaji Arunkumar, Deputy Chairman, Chennai Port, who happened to be in the vicinity, attended the function and named the child. “We have given him a Tamil name - we call him Poovan. From morning to evening, the staff take care of the child and after that, the other residents look after him. The atmosphere of the shelter has changed after his birth,” added Ms. Asha.
The mother is now being taught to feed the child. “We are trying to trace her address,” she added