Source – DNA – Moni Bhushan
Dr Zulie Nakhoodas mission in life is to empower destitute and underprivileged children and help them rise above the vicious circle of poverty, writes Moni Bhushan
Dr Zulie Nakhooda is 70 and has led a life that could well be split down the middle. In the first 35 years, she studied hard, got married, and studied harder. The second half she spent helping thousands of others study, raising a thousand girls, and giving many more a second shot at life through child sponsorship programmes.
Today Nakhooda, a Bora Muslim who did her MA and PhD in social work, is the managing trustee of the India Sponsorship Committee (ISC), an NGO dedicated to child welfare, which draws inspiration and financial support from the global Save The Children programme. ISC has centres in Mumbai, Lonavla and Pune, currently with more than 1,000 inmates. The Antar Bharti Balgram, Lonavla, provides the orphan and destitute children a home, family and the novel concept of a foster mother. It houses eight sadans (homes), each with 10-12 children and one mother.
The idea is to make children aware of family relationships. Vocational training has enabled around 500 children to lead an independent and respectable life, and 23 of ISCs children are now married and well settled.
To say that Nakhooda has led an unusual life would be an understatement. For one, she was encouraged to study at a time girls even those from progressive families were married off at a young age. In fact, Nakhoodas father, while getting her married, first made her husbands family promise that they would let her continue with her education.
Nakhooda not only completed her MA and PhD after her marriage in 1950, but also went to the USA to get her diploma in Social Service Administration from Denver University, leaving behind a five-year-old son.
After the training, she went to Geneva for a meeting with the officials of the International Union for Child Welfare, a global federation, who were keen on starting a service for Indian children. Nakhooda, who was given this responsibility, founded the ISC in 1967 and, as its first administrator, pioneered the programme linking it with a network of global agencies and integrated support services.
My husband has always been my inspiration, Nakhooda says. Though he was only a matriculate himself, he encouraged my education and work throughout. He would keep the paper clippings of all my meetings and photos. He was proud of me. If there is a woman behind every successful man, there was a man behind my success, she says fondly.
In 1967, ISC initiated a campaign for the right to education for underprivileged children, and started providing their families with socio-economic support. To date, 6,000 children have been sponsored through this programme, with the ISC working with families and communities (especially women) to improve the quality of a childs life in every possible way.
ISC helps slum children continue their education by providing support through classes, healthcare, and counselling to prevent girls from dropping out of school. It has undertaken various urban community development projects such as balwadis and teachers training, vocational training for girls for income generation, and child development through non-formal education.
Following the death of her husband and with her son settled abroad, Nakhooda lives by herself, continuing her toil to help the underprivileged look forward to a brighter future. Nakhooda loves reading in her spare time, her current favourite being books on Buddhist philosophy. She likes to keep in touch with her son and grandchildren.
What is life for, after all, if not for happiness that comes only from humanity? she says. And anyway, I am not alone. My son may be away, but I have so many children here who call me Ammi, and love me as much.n Mother dearest: Dr Zulie Nakhooda
Publication: DNA: Section: grandeur; Pg: 14; Date: 8/7/06