STORIES: ASWATHA'S STORY
Aswatha was a young girl of 14 and physically challenged due to polio when she joined Cheshire Homes in 1968. She was born in Guntkal, Andhra Pradesh, and was one of 8 siblings. Her father was a government employee and her mother a homemaker. She was brought up by her grandmother who made efforts to get her polio treated and also sent her to school where she completed her 7th standard from the Government Primary school. Aswatha was admitted to Cheshire Homes in 1968.
At Cheshire Homes, Aswatha was trained in tailoring, Craft, and knitting and worked till 1976. She returned to her parents in 1976 to set up a tailoring centre of her own. In the meantime, Ashwatha was taking care of her mother who had cancer till she passed away and managed the family. After the passing of her parents, her siblings (all married) were unable to take care of her so she returned to Cheshire Homes in 1997. In 2010 she once again moved out to lead an independent life fulfilling her dreams along with her friend Yashoda who was also a resident of Cheshire Home, Bangalore. It was unfortunate that with the COVID pandemic both Ashwatha and Yashodha succumbed to COVID and needed a lot of support. Yashoda was paralyzed and became dependent on her daughter. As Ashwatha always considered Cheshire Homes as her family, she approached Cheshire Homes to take her back and was accepted with open arms.
Aswatha now is 69 years old and has now been admitted as a resident of the Cheshire Homes Old Age Home at Whitefield. She has the ability to speak in Telugu, Kannada, Tamil, Hindi, and English.
When asked what Cheshire Homes had given her, Aswatha says, “Everything. It protected me at all times.” She goes on to say, “What I have learned today was everything from Cheshire Homes. The Home instilled confidence in me to face challenges. She also says, “I learned to live in peace and harmony with different people and temperaments, as I was short-tempered earlier and I always feel Cheshire Homes is my family”.
Aswatha is a member of AWA (an alumni of Cheshire Homes).