A few weeks ago, I came into our office and heard what sounded like a kitten crying. But to my surprise, one of the women came downstairs carrying a puppy. He is what the Indians call a "deshi kutta" country dog or "neri kurkur" bald dog. Basically, a street dog. Apparently they had heard him crying outside and went to find him. He had been put in a box by some of the local children, who said his mother either died or abandoned him.

Posted by Adria Doll

Last week, one girl came to work badly bruised and cut up. We learned that in the middle of the night she had been beaten up by a person in her household (she lives in a slum area) and had been kicked out of her house. The reasoning behind this abuse, as is common, was entirely illogical and a pitiful attempt to validate the idea that women are lesser and disposable. Naturally, the staff immediately arranged a safe place for her to stay until her turn on the waiting list for a working woman’s hostel comes up.

A few weeks ago, a married couple from Canada arrived to intern for the next three months at Destiny, Sanlaap, and Women's Interlink Foundation. They are AWESOME! Adria is in the Health Science Department at Simon Fraser University, and her husband Graham was a records officer with the Vancouver Police Department. Both have started teaching English and computers to the Destiny women, helped us organize our shipping documents (of which there are hundreds) and even helped prepare for our first exhibition. 

July 21, 2008 was the first day of Destiny. We were planning our one year birthday party before I broke my leg, so as soon as I got back to Kolkata we again started making preparations. The women decided to have lunch at the center, and then go shopping in one of the local markets. But Smarita and I wanted to have something a little more special for them, and decided to take them to a new Punjabi restaurant.