Anchors of hope...and rightly so

Anchors of hope...and rightly so
Preetu Nair
meets a group of women who bring hope to the needy and disadvantaged by just giving them some love and attention


What does an old lady who has almost everything, but no one to talk to need? A listener. What does an innocent child, who has no one to call his own in the world pray for? A mate. What does a brilliant student, who has no money to continue education dream off ? A donor.
a listener, a mate, a donor, each is anchor of hope for the disadvantaged. And that, an anchor of hope, is exactly what a group of women aspire to be.
Elegant, yet simple Deanne D’Souza (43) from Caranzalem is the brain behind the five-year-old, “Anchor of Hope” consisting of a bunch of women, resident in Goa and who’s husbands are out sailing the high seas.
Deanne, a homemaker and mother of two teenaged daughters, wanted to do something different, but didn’t quite know what. That’s when she banded together with a lot of other sailor’s wives — Camilla Lobo, Yvonne D ’ S o u z a , Genevieve D’- Souza, Lavina Abreu, Maria Pe re i r a , M a ro u s h k a R a s q u i n h a , Daphne Raghuram, Celine Rodrigues, Leonie Saldanha and Melissa Conceicao who are also homemakers, and Angela Sequeira and Roselyn Pereira who are both working. The group takes it’s name from their’s husband’s professions.
They started their work simply. “We realized we had everything and so decided to share it with others. We started spending time with women in old age homes, just talking and listening to them. The whole effort helped us develop as human beings and at the end of the day we felt accomplished,” said Deanne.
Well organised, each of them has been entrusted with a specialised task. From providing emotional support, organising games and picnics and providing medicines to orphan and HIV positive children and elderly citizens in old age homes, they now also provide financial help.
The finance for their programme comes from three sources: their monthly donation of minimum Rs 100 per person to build up a basic fund, from jumble sales and donations from friends, family and relatives who believe in the work the women are doing. “Orphaned children and old women want some love and attention. The glow on their faces when they see you is the greatest blessing. Besides, we have also funded the education of about 27 persons,” said Camilla.
An intervention of theirs they are proud of is when they were approached by the daughter of a toddy tapper for help. A brilliant student, the girl had obtained the qualifying marks for the BBA course, but had no money for the fees. That’s when the Anchor of Hope came to the girl’s rescue and agreed to pay the fees amounting to Rs 25,000 per annum.
But it was not easy coming up with the money. That’s when they hit upon the idea of a garage sale and came up with the necessary funds for the girl and others in her position.“We try to help in whichever way possible but our hurdle is that sometimes our hands are tied due to lack of funds. Since we are not a registered organisation, we can’t really raise large amounts in funds,” says Genevieve.
What keeps the group going is the encouragement they get from their spouses, families and others. “People have gone out of their way to encourage and help us. It is fantastic to see several people wanting to help us in their own small way,” added Deanne. And in a bid to inculcate this virtue in the younger generation, they have now got their children involved in the work.
An incident that gave the anchors of hope an idea of just how much of a difference they have made in the lives of others, is when a boy they had funded for a hotel management course, returned to meet them and gave them a token sum stating: “With help from you, I could finish my education and get a respectable job. Now I want to return the money you spent on me, to ensure that some other child benefits.” The group has truly been an anchor of hope to many.

2008 Jul 28 Times Of India Goa