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Mrs Lazarus
 If
you enter the premises of the Society for Prevention
of Cruelty to Animals (SPCA), you encounter
Mrs Lazarus, a soul committed to the unstinting
care and well-being of animals, be it dogs, cats
or cows. Mrs Lazarus talks with enthusiasm about
her animals as a mother talks about her children.
Of course, she is nothing less than a mother to
them. Each wrinkle in her careworn face unfolds
a tale about every animal in her shelter. You might
meet Rosy, the dog, whose legs have been paralysed
from being run over by a car, or hear of Rani the
cat who was deserted by the owner for having caught
some dreadful disease. Of Italian origin, Mrs Lazarus
was born in Pune. Her love for animals makes her
overlook the fact that she gets a meagre salary
of Rs 650 per month at her job with the Society
for Prevention of Cruelty to Animals. |
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Sister
Nikolina
Sister Nikolina Viano, a Salesian Sister of Don
Bosco, came to India from Italy in 1950 and has
since then dedicatd her life for the betterment
of the homeless children. It was only this noble
thought of reaching out to the homeless that led
her to the country, thousands of miles away from
her home in Turin, Italy. From Italy to Tamil Nadu,
then to Nasik and Ahmednagar, she has finally begun
her work in Pune. For sheltering destitute children
she was given a plot at Wagholi, in the suburbs
of Pune, where within a few months she had cultivated
coconut groves, wheat fields and all sorts of vegetables.
To her misfortune, the plot came under the 'green
zone', and she was denied permission from the government
to build a home for the homeless. But far from giving
up, she has managed to have a house of her own which
she calls 'Maria Sharan'. Now 73, this lady deserves
every ounce of our respect for her tremendous contribution
in rehabilitating the homeless children of Pune
by not just providing them with a home, but also
educating them. |
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