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Ms Lakshmi Mini highlights the need to support war widows (Veer Naris) by rebuilding their lives. ‘VeerNari Sakthi Resettlement Foundation’ is an NGO dedicated to the resettlement of war widows.

She believed his words,
"I'll soon return",
He wasn't a liar,
For he did return.
But this time, wrapped in tricolour,
He glorified his absence ahead!
Veernari they call her,
A martyr's wife she is.
Who resumes a battle,
Her beloved leaves behind!
Do you hear her plea?
See the uncertainty of her future?
Brimming in those helpless eyes!
Responsibilities crawl up,
They are now stacked on her shoulders,
She never crumbles or tumble,
Faces the nation that once cried with her,
With undying memories,
She makes her tears invisible,
She chooses to move on,
She fights the battle all alone,
With no stars, stripes, uniform, boots,
Veernari's determination and courage is worth a salute!

She didn’t dare to stop him though she knew he might not return. She waited for him. Her calls were unanswered. And she saw him wrapped in the tricolour. 

She saluted her beloved and watched him blend in the lap of the motherland. The camera lenses focussed her teary eyes and the entire nation wept. She is our ‘Veer Nari’.

The Veer Behen, isn’t she our sister? Is she less than a brother? Hasn’t she sacrificed her everything for our safety? 

This ‘Rakshabandhan’, could we pay her back? How many of us felt that cold shudder down the spine when we saw a Veer Nari on screen staring at her beloved, as if she really wanted to speak a lot to him, the martyr?

How many us even chose to click ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ every time we saw her photos on the social media? How about some genuine ‘care’ this time? 

Every time we see a martyr’s family on screen, the temporary care does last for some time. If you really want to know the struggles they go through; you must try imagine the hurdles the martyr’s family goes through.

Well, how many more stories do you want? As per the December 2018 statistics unveiled by Government of India, there are 6.5+ lac ‘Veer Naris’ across India. Believe us when we say, the road ahead for them isn’t the same. In fact, it takes a lot of time to sync with reality. But they still choose to move on with pride. 

However small let it be, a monetary contribution might help a martyr’s wife taking up a skill-oriented course for better employment or might even help their children fulfil the dreams which were left incomplete by their father. If we wish to volunteer to ease the lives of the martyr’s family after the toughest trauma, a small contribution might create miracles in their life. 

Since the past two decades, Veernari Shakti Resettlement Foundation (VSRF) has been empowering our ‘Veer Naris’, making them employable. The permanent void created is something we cannot plug. But there is still a lot that we could do. VSRF is a Government of India recognised NGO working for War / Martyr Widows, Disable / Wounded Indian Soldiers & their dependents, Battle / Peace casualty soldiers’ dependents.

So, will you ‘Like’ and ‘Share’ or even try to ‘Care’ this time?

Jai hind”.

Title Image courtesy : https://www.huffingtonpost.in/

VSRF support ‘Veer Naris’ for a dignified livelihood across India and Nepal. VSRF currently is in discussion with more than 4000+ Martyr families of Armed and Paramilitary Forces. As a registered charitable organisation, VSRF accepts donations by providing the donor with Income Tax exemption for the amount donated under Section 80G.

By Lakshmi Mini

Lakshmi Mini, a Senior Research Associate of DRaS is a Global Shaper from Coimbatore hub, an initiative of World Economic Forum. She is an engineer by profession, passionate writer and start-up mentor who had worked for corporates like Infosys, SocialPulsar, Hashtag Inc, Sourcegain, Altaire innovations and has mentored many startups. She is an active volunteer who focusses on women empowerment, Skill up India, Education of underprivileged, farmer welfare, Go Green initiatives, Animal welfare etc. Her creative writing works were published at Australian times and other platforms. She is also into scriptwriting, ideation, lyrics writing for movies. She is currently associated with various NGOs/NPOs.