Old Age Home Shanti Malai
Traditionally, South Indian women are expected to help bear the family's burden from a young age. However, social factors prevent most women from even considering professional training. Their lack of primary education, the impact of the dowry system, and the demands of family life often restrict their opportunities to low-paying, hard physical labor, and tough lives.
In India, due to religious and cultural pressure, the situation of widows is challenging. They are not supposed to marry again. They are not allowed to attend weddings and family occasions. Their family of origin cannot help them because they are impoverished. They didn't only lose their husband but their whole identity as human beings. They feel guilty and ashamed of themselves and often commit suicide.
In 1996, Dr. Hugo Maier founded Shanthimalai Research and Development Trust, a charitable non-profit organization, to offer help for self-help to villagers in the Tiruvannamalai area, a largely rural and drought-ridden district in Tamil Nadu. What began with a day clinic and the training of women health workers has grown into a comprehensive support network for 40 villages, building schools, offering training and a home for widows, and creating jobs for thousands of local people.
