Sebati Singh interacts with an inmate at Anandaashram

Keonjhar: Like all her brilliant classmates, she had many dreams in her eyes. She dreamt of higher education and a lucrative job to prove her worth. She was cruising along on her mission, but destiny had something else in store for her.

Forty-two-year-old Sebati Singh, a resident of Keonjhar town in Orissa, finally landed up in becoming a mother to many helpless souls, most of whom are of her father’s age or even older. All her time is now spent on looking after these old people who had no one else to fall back on or were deliberately deserted by their children.
Anandashram, an old age home run by Sebati’s organisation Ideal Development Agency (IDA) at Banajodi near Keonjhar district headquarters town, is today recognised as a perfect centre of care and compassion.
Government agencies, private individuals or mining firms operating in the area are also playing their part to provide minimum possible support to keep the 27 inmates living there in comfort so that they would not brood over their past.
Thriveni Earth Movers Private Limited (TEMPL), a global world-class mining company that is engaged in iron ore raising in at least half-a-dozen mines in the district, has built pucca house with boundary walls for the inmates in the land that was provided by the district administration a decade ago. The building, is not only equipped with all basic amenities like good toilets, kitchen, but also power generation sets and dedicated electricity transformers.
“The self-less service of dedication of Sebati inspired us to get associated with the organisation. The smile on the faces of the inmates has put on additional responsibility to carry forward our social commitments not for them but also other such people, children and women in Orissa,” says Vikram Mehta, general manager, TEMPL.
Mohitosh Chakraborty, a resident of West Bengal, who was serving in steel plant in Jamshedpur and deserted by his wife and children after he suffered from serious backbone problemstrying to forget his yesteryears amidst the love and care of Sebati and other sisters serving there.
The greenery in and around the old age home, vegetable and fruit orchards in the premises of Anandashram not only make it look more attractive and but also cast soothing effects on the inmates.
“One day, I had every thing — a good job with a fat salary, a beautiful wife and lovely children. But when I got ridden with spiral problem, they deserted me after taking away all my retirement benefits. IDA people rescued me from the street and brought here. I would have died had I not been treated on time,” says Mohitosh.
Sebati’s tryst with social service began right from her college days. Her father Bansidhar Singh’s concerns for the poor and helpless people inspired her to take up the cause of the lesser souls, albeit in an unorganised way.
In 1990, Sebati and a few of her friends founded Ideal Development Agency for the poor, mainly the tribals and they fought for prohibition, child care, education for all and many other issues concerning the day-today life of the local people.
“Initially, we were working in an unorganised way. We saved from our pocket money and spend for the betterment of the destitute. That was no adequate. Two former collectors — Jagadananda Panda and Arun Panda — prompted us to work in a planned manner. Arun Panda sanctioned us `15,000 while Jagadananda Panda provided us 10,000 square feet land for construction of an old age home. Thus began our journey,” she says.
The march, however, was not without any hurdles. There were bids on her life by some influential people who wanted to snatch away the piece of land allotted to her. But things were resolved with active cooperation from the district administration. Sebati gives all credit to her husband Satish Samant, in-laws and two children for standing by her in her mission.
“Without their support, I could not have opened the old age home. They rather inspired me take up my social services in a vigorous way,” she adds.
Sebati’s utmost satisfaction comes when an inmate affectionately calls her “Maa” (mother).
“All my stress and tension gets instantly buried when the inmates run to me calling ‘Maa’, make complaints against each other like little children, ask for ice cream and individual attention. I deal with them with utmost care so than none of them feels neglected,” says Sebati.