Every baby needs a father to be conceived – but not to be born.
Not all mothers bring their babies into the world with the love and support of a husband by their side. Helpless, alone and pregnant with despair, every year millions of young women in India consider rejecting motherhood – and their babies – when they discover that they are pregnant.
Did you know that 15.6 million pregnancies are terminated annually in India?
Shanti and Jiya*, both 24, both orphans, found themselves pregnant by men they had known their whole lives, but who abandoned them as soon as they learnt of their condition. With no family or finances to support them, could Shanti and Jiya choose to keep their babies? When motherhood comes without marriage, it brings with it the fear (and reality) of shame, abuse, additional trauma, financial crisis and abandonment.
But both Shanti and Jiya are now safely home. The Saved Pearl Foundation was established in 2015 with the aim of helping pregnant women in crisis to embrace motherhood and the precious pearls within them. At the Saved Pearl Foundation, expectant mothers in need are provided with board and lodging, nutritious food and supplements, counselling, medical expenses, legal aid – and most of all, the love and support of tender caregivers. With a little love and encouragement, every mother finds a reason to carry her baby to full term.
My world crumbled when I realised that my partner had deserted me and gone back to his village, leaving me pregnant and alone. But with the support of the Saved Pearl Foundation, I found the courage to give birth to my child – and with her, I was reborn too!
I am no longer afraid of facing the world alone” – Ms. Manali
The Saved Pearl Foundation is ready to soon welcome its 50th saved baby, with the number of babies saved in 2023 being double those in the previous year! From humble beginnings from the living room couch of its founder, psychologist Arlene Theknath, the Foundation is now a registered organisation (80G & 12A) with a temporary shelter home that houses five expectant mothers at a time. The vision for the future is the establishment of a permanent shelter space that can be home for at least 25 expectant mothers at a time – ‘Ima’s Home’ (Ima is Hebrew for ‘mother’) – with dedicated security, sustainable livelihood training, and an infirmary and recovery room.
The Saved Pearl Foundation also conducts awareness workshops for teens and young adults on topics like sex education, the difference between love and infatuation, teen pregnancy, and for women on topics like reproductive and psychological health. So far 6000+ children and young adults in schools and colleges, and 2000+ women from low-income communities have been sensitised on topics like these.
The small yet dedicated team that works for the Saved Pearl Foundation consists of gynaecologists, professional counsellors, digital marketers and volunteers, who dedicate their time and skills to help mothers in desperate circumstances make an informed choice to keep their babies. The organization relies heavily on the support of individual donors; men and women with a heart for distressed mothers and innocent children.
As we celebrate Mother’s Day this year, let us remember the mothers who chose to protect the life within their wombs – and the people who gave them the courage to.
The Saved Pearl Foundation helps women in other kinds of pregnancy crises too – survivors of rape and domestic violence, those abandoned by their husbands, and those considering termination due to severe financial crisis. They are ministered to psychologically, emotionally and physically until they can be integrated back into society with their babies.
If you feel inspired to help an expectant mother in need carry her child to full term or donate towards the establishment of Ima’s Home, please visit www.thesavedpearlfoundation.org to make your contribution today! (All donations are eligible for 50% tax exemption under section 80G of the Income Tax Act 1961)
If you are a business or organisation and would like to partner in the cause, please contact: +91-77 100 52821
*Names changed for privacy
