The Widow Residential Rehabilitation program is called Happy Homes which proposes to build 36 dwelling units for young widows. These homes will be located behind the Community Center making it private.
The vision for this residential program is to rehabilitate,
educate and empower younger widows who come from
an underprivileged background. For a period of 5 years,
younger widows with their children will be given the
opportunity to have a home for themselves. The added
advantages include education for their children, medical
facilities and easy access to the vocational training
facilities offered by the Sparrows of Splendor.
36 dwelling units are planned for the
widows, which will be built in a staged
manner. Planned as apartment styled living
spaces, the homes will also raise the
standard of food habits, hygiene and
inculcate a sense of responsibility and
purpose for the widows. Vegetable gardens
are already in place and plans forpoultry &
bovine farming will help towards the
financial sustainability of the initiative
Self-Worth
Most widows’ struggle with self-worth issues after the death of the husband, mainly due of the social stigma forced on them by the family and community. Their instinctive adaptability to fight for survival and to take charge of their children is stifled with dogmatic rules by village head men and they slowly fold into lives of debt, forced dependency and obligation.
The widows at Happy Homes will be given activities and personality
improvement skills to help them take charge of their lives. Skills training and personality improvement training will help the widows to find a job readily or even start a business of their own. This independent status usually also helps them find good life-partners and they eventually re-marry. The Happy Homes is a stepping stone for their future; a spring board to bounce back into
a new life.
