It is not about quantity but quality – the management running the shelter should be responsible. Any system is good only if they change the way things are run. In most shelters, this is not happening. We need guidelines that make sense. We cannot cramp 50 women in one place which has a capacity of merely 30. For women with disability, who use wheelchairs, there is a need for more space. 

Fund raising is a huge problem. People contribute only to causes where they can physically see the destruction – like natural disasters, for instance. But there are many other issues that need to be tackled – like poverty, abuse of women, creating livelihoods, discrimination or equal wages. The giving, while appreciated, has turned into a herd mentality. People who are donating are not asking what we need. Instead, they just call us up and ask us to pick up whatever they want to dispose. 

I have had great fun in running a shelter, which can house 40 women. We have a six-member team. More than what we can give the women, we have learnt a lot from them. We have learnt and understood the ground realities and look at it as solving problems. Our experience with the women motivates us to work better.