Caretaker Mother

She has been taking in such children for over two decades now and has,under her protective wings,70 children who look up at her as their lone support.

On a usual day,the children at the orphanage can be seen playing games like fugdi,hide-and-seek and marbles. The children and teenagers aged between eight and 18 years,enjoy their lunch break. After 20 minutes,they reach their wooden benches on the verandah of a bungalow,just 20 yards off the Aksa beach in Borivali,to learn poems and read stories.

After school,the children enter the bungalow where Buthello prepares food and gets their beds ready. Buthello had to discontinue school owing to non-payment of fees. She later opened the education center to support children who lose parents in riots or whose parents are arrested. Buthello says,“Why should innocent children suffer for crimes committed by parents?”

“When I was nine,I lost my parents. My sister and I wanted to study but could not. We studied on our own later. I took up a job as a teacher,” says Buthello,a B.Ed graduate.

“After I lost my husband,I decided to open this center to help children who want to study but don’t have parents to support them,” says Buthello,whose only daughter is now settled in America.

Buthello,a widow,does not feel alone in Mumbai. “These children complete me. My entire day is spent taking care of them. Some children who come to me don’t even remember their parents,especially those who died in riots or floods,” says Buthello.

“The parents who are in jail,on completion of their terms,take their children back but continue sending them to the school here. I feel very satisfied in providing these children with shelter and education. I have employed five teachers from nearby Madh village to teach the children. Two of our boys who have completed HSC have already begun earning,” Buthello says.