AUGUSTO RODRIGUES
CANACONA: Mangal Naik does not remember her age, but knows that she has been staying at the Canacona Primary Health Centre (PHC) for the last 15-odd years because she has no home to go to.
“Many years back, I was assaulted by one of my family members and eventually had both my legs amputated. I used to stay at my mother’s house then and have no home now. That is why I am kept here,” says Mangal, who has been housed at the PHC.
Mangal’s case is just one of the few facing women in Goa with no place to go and with the Government having no proper policy in place; life appears skewed for women ostracised by society.
“I am ready to take Mangal in one of my homes if I get a letter from Jyoti Desai, Deputy Director of Admin at WCD asking me to admit her. I need to take this approach because payments have been delayed and I cannot afford to bear the cost of looking after someone else,” explains Donald Fernandes, Director of Street Providence who tends to vulnerable women and men in Goa.