Woman Missing for 7 Years Reunited with Family

 Pune: In a dramatic turn of events, a lost and missing woman for over seven years from her home town in Karnataka was reunited with her family recently.

The lost woman, in her early 50s, who was found at Pali village of Raigad district in Maharashtra was wandering, was brought to Navi-Mumbai-based SEAL (Social and Evangelical Association for Love) Ashram a few months ago.

Her condition was so bad and pathetic that one could not make out if the person was a man or woman.

However, the woman recovered with good food and rest at SEAL Ashram under the loving care of the social workers. After gaining some strength she revealed her name Kasturi Patil to the social workers. But everyone at the Ashram was clueless where she came from.

Last week, the woman blurted out “Badami” to the social workers. As luck would have it, some of the workers at the Ashram knew that Badami is a town in Bagalkot district of Karnataka state

"The SEAL Ashram staffers called up the main Badami police station and sent them Kasturi's photographs on WhatsApp,” Dr Abraham Mathai, Founder of the Harmony Foundation and Chief Patron of SEAL Ashram told Deccan Chronicle.

Within two hours, Badami police got back, saying that Kasturi's married daughter, Devamma Bhingari, had been searching for her for seven years. She had also lodged a missing complaint with the police.

“It was truly a miracle we found her family and all the Ashram were overjoyed,” Mathai said.

Pastor K. M. Philip, founder of the SEAL Ashram, said Kasturi had become mentally disturbed after she found out her husband had married again.

She then left her husband place and started living with her sister. However, her deep depression unsettled her and she wandered out of her home and landed in Raigad district in Maharashtra.

Kasturi soon turned a vagabond and survived on whatever food she found in trash bins or given to her by kind pedestrians.

“On rescuing her, we were surprised how she survived for seven years on the streets, until she was noticed by a few locals at Pali village in Raigad district, who informed SEAL," A Jainamma, a SEAL staffer, said.

"For over 25 years, our shelter home has been rescuing and reuniting homeless persons with their families,” Pastor Philip said.

“We have been urging state and central governments, especially police, that a hi-tech database must be created so that biometrics can be used to locate families of missing persons,” he said.

“Over the past 25 years, SEAL Ashram has reunited approximately 600 lost and abandoned individuals with their families, offering them a second chance at life,” Dr Mathai said.

“In this sense, SEAL Ashram is truly a heaven on earth for the lost, least and abandoned destitutes irrespective of religion, caste and creed,” he added.

The Ashram has endeavoured to retrieve the destitute from obscurity and bring them back into the mainstream by reuniting them with their families and next of kin, resulting in their reintegration back into society, Dr Mathai said.

He stressed the importance of civil society’s involvement in addressing destitution, as there are lakhs of such destitute across the nation who don’t even reflect in the national census.

Often, the homeless are abandoned and disconnected from society and do not even receive the benefits of various government schemes issued for the underprivileged, Dr Mathai pointed out.

“Therefore, civil society should step forward to provide support through awareness, reporting cases, volunteering, and advocating for inclusive policies,” he stressed.