White Doves, under the leadership of its Founder President Corrine Rasquinha and Vitus Rasquinha are coming up with a 200-bed Psychiatric Nursing and Destitute Home at Maroli.
Corrine Rasquina spoke exclusively to Newskarnataka about the project and the funds they need to complete it on time.
Speaking about the project Corrine said, “Right now we run two homes for the destitute and we have a license from the District Administration to run a Psychiatric Nursing Home. Most of the people we pick from the roads are psychiatric patients and that is why we went in for this license. At present, we have 132 inmates and just two houses. Sufficient space and better facility are lacking, right now. Since these houses are taken on lease, I need to give them back. Hence, we approached the Bishop of Mangalore requesting to give us some land. He has donated a land near Maroli and we have laid the foundation for the 200-bed Psychiatric Nursing and Destitute Home.”
The shelter is a home for several homeless and helpless. “These people whom we are taking care of are mostly from the streets irrespective of caste or religion. Right now, we have 70 percent Hindus, 15 percent Muslims and the rest are Christians.”
Financial aid
Explaining about the cost and expenses of the project, she said, “The estimated cost of the project is Rs 7.6 Crore. Once completed, the Nursing and Destitute Home will have 100 beds for men and an equal number of beds for women. There are many doctors who are supporting us. We have a tie-up with a psychiatric care centre. The building will comprise basement, ground and two floors. We have not received any support from the government for this project, but I must say, we are very grateful to MLA J R Lobo since with his intervention we got aid from the government to run the homes. However, I must go knocking the doors of every source I can to raise funds for the project. Many people have already come forward and contributed willingly to date, but we have a long way to go,” She added. The project which was started on February 2, 2016 will hopefully be ready by February 2, 2018.
Corrine and her decision to take up social service through White Doves
Corrine says, “Being a graduate in political science I had nothing to do with social service. But an encounter with God changed everything. I got married and for five years I did not conceive to bear a child. I tried worldly treatments but it did not work. That was the time when I turned to God. I attended retreats and listened to word of God. Doctors had given up hope but by God’s grace I was blessed with a girl child. Then I realised how one can love God who cannot be seen and yet not love their neighbour. Every-time I saw people on the streets, misery everywhere, I thought that I must do something since God is in those people too. Later, I saw the misery in Wenlock and other hospitals, where some patients who were discharged had nowhere to go. I had found the way to love God was to love His people and thus we started homes for such people.”
“White Doves was founded 21 years ago and has been working for the downtrodden since then. But till now hardly anybody knew about what work we do. Till date, 479 destitutes have been rehabilitated, over 95 have been led back home including to far away places like West Bengal, Gujarat and even to Nepal. We have educated 76 children, the span being from elementary schooling to technical and post-graduates, some of whom were/are accommodated at White Doves. We have built eight homes for the poor and daily we give one meal to the people on the streets. We started with 15 packets and now we give 150 packets near the railway station.”
Notably, all these works are undertaken with any cost to the beneficiaries since the time of inception.
Corrine added that with the present homes, it is difficult to accommodate people who are rescued. “Now for this new home that we are going to build, we really need big money and therefore, I need to tell the world what we have been doing and we need to continue it.”
Corrine, the multitasker
Corrine and her team conduct cultural programmes to raise funds for charity. “We are also into cultural programmes, charity shows, street shows, tableaus, music concerts and that is one way of raising money. My husband Vitus P. P. Rasquina is the trustee and Jerome Coelho is the secretary and Treasurer of the trust.” Speaking about how she survived cancer, she said, “Everything was going on well and from nowhere I was diagnosed with third-stage cancer. I did not wonder why did I get it but I knew that God has a plan. I just went ahead with surgery and chemotherapy. I was in coma and doctors said I won’t survive. My liver was completely gone. And every organ had to start failing eventually leading to death. The residents of White Doves were crying and praying and miraculously I survived. Even the Hepatitis B virus was thrown out of my body!”
Helping cancer patients
Corrine lends support to cancer patients in the city. “Today I got information of another young lady diagnosed with cancer. People just want to know as to which doctor I went to. Everybody is so desperate. Most of the cancer patients from Mangaluru who have contacted me have gone to my doctor. They think that there is some magic in him but it is just the faith that you need to have. If our time is up then we cannot do anything. That’s why I say, live everyday to the fullest.”
“I give the cancer patients hope and confidence because I have gone through the worst. But since God’s hand was there, I recovered. I tell everybody just like Jesus brought Lazarus back from the dead, I was saved. I want to work on a war footing and finish this work of the building so that if my call comes, the service I started is continued. That is my only mission and my dream. I want to complete this and set it up nicely so that many more people are benefited in the years to come.”
Support from officials and public in the rescue mission irrespective of religion
It was not easy for Corrine and her team to get into helping the needy. Some fanatical groups even tried to stop them from what they were doing alleging conversion. “Even the fanatical groups know that we are taking care of psychiatric people. Nobody cares about the people on streets especially psychiatric cases. Appreciation comes from many quarters for which I am thankful. But when people accuse me of conversion, I very firmly tell them, ‘If you feel so, come and take the people you feel who have been converted, and look after them yourselves. If you cannot, then return them back to me.’ I am not converting anybody but helping the downtrodden equal citizens of this country to live a dignified life. As mother Theresa said each one has to live a better life-a better Hindu, a better Christian or a better Muslim. Once I faced a problem while serving food to people on the road. Auto drivers confiscated my vehicle after right wing activists complained that we were converting people. But later, when we questioned them they had no answers because they knew there was no such thing happening. Otherwise, we have great support from the police. When police rescue girls in brothel raids or find anybody shelterless particularly the females, they call me up even at 2 am in the night for help. They had once brought a pregnant girl who was found in a bus. The government is benefitting 100 percent from what we do. Even members of the public call me if they find someone shelterless. We have reached out to as many as we can. But how much more can we do? Place for housing these people is a constraint .”
Everyday, White Doves feeds 132 people at the shelter and 140 people near the railway station.
Reuniting the destitute
Speaking about how White Doves reunited some inmates with their families, she said, “The credit goes to my manager Jerald Fernandes. Some inmates, after recovering from their mental ailment, will remember of the place they are from, a name which none of us may have heard of. But Jerald will search on google, find the places and establish contact with the police stations in that area to find out about missing cases in their jurisdiction. Recently we helped a lady get back home. Many people here at the shelter are similarly lost. Five are on the waiting list and we have almost found their places.”
Message to the readers
“See, what we do at White Doves is nothing extraordinary. Anybody can do it. I am a family person but I can multitask like I am into music, retreats and so many other things. I still look after my family and I have two additional children now, from among the destitute. There is time for everything. All you need to have is desire to make a change and leave the rest is in God’s hands. With prayer, we can accomplish many things . Frankly, I do not know how things happen but I firmly believe in the Lord’s support in whatever I do.
Everybody need not start an ashram. We can also reach out in a small way,” she says.
