A mother and a home for every girl child: Beulah John

Bengaluru: It was the night before Christmas Eve, 2014 and Beulah John, who runs an orphanage in Kothanur, was at her wits' end.

With 22 children all girls rescued from the streets, from sex work and abusive homes simply making ends meet is a mammoth task.

And when her children told her they wanted to wear anarkalis for Christmas, Beulah found herself at a total loss. There was just no money.

That evening, she received a phone call from a friend who insisted she drop by his house for a few minutes. "He told me that he really wanted to buy my children something for Christmas and gave me a cover containing Rs 10,000," said Beulah. The children got their new clothes in 2014.

Miracles are an everyday affair in Beulah's life. She was only nine years old when she first heard the story of Mother Teresa, which inspired her so much that she knew she wanted to dedicate her life to helping children in need. Fate had other plans in store for her she married, became a teacher and had twins of her own.

A little over ten years ago, her long-cherished dream found its way back to her through her nine-year-old sons, who saw a ragpicker on the street and brought him home. "That's when I knew it was time for me to do the one thing I always wanted," said Beulah.

With only faith to back her, she began her journey. Today, visitors to Beulah's home are met with nothing but joy and goodwill, there are few traces of the agonising past the children have left behind. "When I started, my relatives and my friends called me mad," she said. "They thought I was throwing away a good life."

Many of the children need counselling after they have been rescued, they have grown so accustomed to the bitter battle for survival that stealing and grabbing are second nature to them.

Some of the kids didn't even understand how to use a toilet when they were first brought in. She single-handedly helped them recover, keeping the household intact and making it a point to give the children all the love and affection they needed.

It would be unfair to call Beulah's home an organisation she will do anything it takes to make the children feel like they belong, that they have family to fall back on.

"We began rescuing children from off the streets and soon, others started referring them to us," said Beulah. The kids are given a home to call their own, as well as a good education, along with all the simple pleasures that are so important to a child.

"We used to adopt boys and girls, but the Child Welfare Committee has told us to focus on a single gender now, so we are working with young girls, especially those who have been molested, abused or rescued from the flesh trade," she said.

"People wonder if we're getting funding from abroad, because we have always managed to make ends meet," she joked. "That's not true, though. We depend entirely on friends and well-wishers, who have always come through for us over the years." No matter how hard it gets, there is no turning back for her. "Everybody has a dream," she said. "This is mine."