2 destitutes reunited with their kin

Mangaluru: In separate cases, two persons with mental health issues, who had been wandering on the streets of Mangaluru, have been reunited with their families, thanks to two NGOs working for the rehabilitation of the destitute.
Search engine Google played its part in these rehabilitations, said volunteers from the two NGOs – White Doves and Snehalaya Charitable Trust. In one of the cases, a woman hailing from Katihar district in Bihar was reunited with her sons, six years after she went missing from the house.

Zarina Kathur was first seen in Mangaluru in a helpless condition on August 17, 2016. Her whereabouts for the first four years were not known. Police from the Mangaluru north station picked her up from the streets and got her admitted to White Doves.

“Zarina was administered medical treatment so she could regain her mental semblance. After almost two-and-a-half years, she showed signs of recovery. Since three months she had been pleading with us to take her back to her family. However, she thought her relatives lived nearby,” said Corrine Rasquinha, founder and president, White Doves.

It was only on April 5 that the NGO manager Jerald Fernandes managed to extract some details from Zarina. “She made a mention of a maulvi named Abdul Gangapur Madrasa. Through internet, we found out the phone number of Katihar SP who in turn provided the contact number of the sub-inspector of Balrampur police station. Police immediately swung into action and within a couple of hours, we received a call from one of her five sons,” Corrine said. The son’s claim was verified through details mentioned in the Aadhaar card.

In another case, Snehalaya reunited 38-year-old Ravi Kumar Sharma with his family in Jharkhand, two years after he went missing. Giving out the details, Joseph Crasta, founder, Snehalaya, said Sharma was restlessly roaming on the streets in Bondel, Mangaluru, on January 11.

“He was highly restless and violent. After preliminary care, we admitted him to Yenepoya Specialty Hospital for further psychiatric treatment. Later, we got him back to Snehalaya and continued medication. He responded to the treatment and began to regain his semblance,” Crasta said.