Unique Home Jalandhar - Where Girls Are Given a Second Chance!

Unique Home Jalandhar is a special home in the heart of Punjab which takes up and looks after unwanted, unclaimed and orphaned girls.

They say it takes courage to raise a child. And here, in this shelter home, hundreds of girls are being raised by one mother - Bibi Prakash Kaur. We are extremely thankful to her for agreeing to this interview with the AkshiNarmis team.

A Brief Background

Bibi Prakash Kaur is the woman behind this shelter home established back in 1993. She took the onus upon her to give a secure home to abandoned girls, and bring them up as her own.

The NGO is home to more than 100 girls till date. And aims to raise them as healthy individuals, arm them with all the social skills and educational qualifications that they need to face life on their own terms.

Unique Home Jalandhar - Family to the Abandoned

So what inspired Bibiji to make this as her life’s mission? It’s probably not one but a number of stories tied together pointing towards one social evil - Abandonment of Girl Child in India. Of the 11 million abandoned children in India, 90% are girls. And through her shelter home, Bibiji and her team are attempting to give some of these girls a second chance in life.

Bibiji recalls some of her rescues where they got a call from someone about a baby girl in a dog’s mouth, once when they discovered a baby girl in a dustbin, another time inside a well, and often at the doorsteps of their shelter homes. There are numerous excuses for people to give up on them. But for Bibiji, one reason is enough, she wants to give them a Home.

Seeing their good work, their word has spread, and often whenever a girl is found abandoned in vicinity, Unique Home Jalandhar is informed.

That being said, currently the shelter home has a capacity of taking up and nurturing 100 girls at one time. As of now, they have 80-85 kids, who are within 18 years of age. The home looks after all their needs - from food, clothing, books, stationery and toys to a proper schooling, and post that sends them for higher studies and later marriage.

Their system is quite homely. These kids have their mother to look after them, care for them, and together are a family. Bibiji’s top priority at the shelter home is a good life to her children. Whatever donation comes is first used to fulfill their needs, and only the remaining goes into improving their infrastructure or other requirements.

Apart from school, there are certain daily lessons at Unique Home to help develop their personality and make them good human beings. During summer holidays, they are taken to a 10 days trip, and based on their skills, are often given a boost up for painting, dance, sports and other activities.

On being asked about if these kids deal with questions at school about their parents, Bibiji has but one answer - She gives them love and care, enough to feel that they have a family, not the one they were born into, but definitely the one that’s looking out for them. They do not have anything to be ashamed about. And proudly say that their mother is Prakash Kaur.

Why AkshiNarmis Chose To Feature It

It’s often that we talk about gender equality and issues concerning women, but how many of us actually take an action to curb it? To really make it their mission to save girl children? A lot of such girls do not even make it out of their mother’s womb. Who knows how many astronauts, doctors, writers, painters and socialists we’ve already lost! And are we prepared to see the consequences of losing more of them in the coming years?

Through this shelter home, Bibiji has made a humble start to give them an equal chance at life. So that they can become independent and capable enough to lead their own life without any interference.

As is rightly said, our beginning doesn’t define who we are, but our path sure does. And Bibiji has ensured that her kids take the right one.

What You Can Do

Unique Home’s priority is giving a good life to every child, which it does. But they have a limited capacity as of now. Also, a lot of their infrastructure requirements remain unfulfilled. You can help them in their mission by donating to their cause. It can be in cash or kind, school fees, or items that the girls can put to use.

Write to them at <uniquehome [at] yahoo [dot] com [dot] au> or call at +91 9872120664 to explore opportunities to support them. To know more about them, check out their website and find out the different ways in which you can help.

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