Chennai NGO reunites woman with brother in Uttar Pradesh's Kaushambi after 25 years

PRAAGRAJ: Call it the fate or tireless efforts of a Chennai-based NGO, Udavum Karangal, a 53-year- old woman, Kusum Yadav, has been reunited with her family in the neighbouring district of Kaushambi after over 25 years. Kusum, who had developed psychological symptoms and was under extreme depression, had run away from her village Baserhi and was found by this NGO in far-off Tambaram in Tamil Nadu. Kusum will meet family on Wednesday.
For over 25 years since 1996, she was under the protection of this NGO. A few years back, she had reluctantly spoken about the name of her village and the chairman of the NGO launched a search for all the villages with the name Basethi. After a marathon effort, he finally found the siblings of Kusum and reunited her with her family on January 19.
Kusum, who had seven siblings, six brothers and a sister, was married to a local in her early 20s but unfortunately her husband died after a couple of months of their marriage. Kusum’s second marriage was with Bhailal, a worker in a steel factory at Pune.
However, the happiness of the married life was short lived as Kusum was often thrashed by her drunkard husband.
Offended by the repeated torture, she came back to her parents' place but under depression, she developed psychiatric problems and finally ran away from her home.
"Kusum was found by a well-wisher of Udavum Karangal at Tambaram lying on a street and people teasing her. She was handed over to us in January 1996 and till date she has been nurtured, given psychiatric treatment and is now in a normal condition," said Pappa S Vidyaakar, founder of the NGO.
He further informed TOI that Kusum responded well to psychiatric treatment and after having recovered got involved in various activities in the rehabilitation home at Thiruverkadu. However, she was always reluctant to divulge the details of her native place and said that she did not want to go back.
"After repeated counselling, she started giving vague details like her village name and the name of her brothers. With the small details the social worker, Y Srinivasa Rao, found through Google a school called Balamandir School, and spoke to Mallick Chand who knew her family. Soon, we were able to contact Ramchand Yadav and Prakash Yadav, the two brothers of Kusum," informed Vidyaakar.
The NGO arranged a WhatsApp video call between Kusum and her family and she was overjoyed. Later, Phoolchand Yadav, her other brother, was contacted in Bengaluru who went to Chennai to take her sister home. "On meeting, the duo hugged each other and were in tears," recalled the NGO chairman.