Savitribai’s only escape from the drudgery of work was dwelling in the memories of times gone by.
She cannot recall whether she was happy or sad when she left her maternal home after marriage. What remained etched in her memory, were the taunts of her mother-in-law, being starved for days together, and being physically and mentally abused by her husband.
She remembered being kicked out of her own home - with others standing in mute testimony to her helplessness and vulnerability. She could still feel the pain and the deep sorrow that constantly motivated her to escape her predicament.
Savitribai ran away - straight into the arms of Sunder Akka, who provided her succor. Sunder Akka befriended her during the temple visits and lent her a shoulder to cry on. Her kind eyes and sympathy had won Savitribaibai’s heart. Little did she know that her life would change forever. This emissary of hope had betrayed her trust, and plunged her into the oppression of sex work. For Savitribai, this was a point of no return.
Her mother-in-law’s curses haunted her during the routine motions of her ‘job’. She initially hated being used for her body, but quickly learnt to be numb. She was resigned to her fate, hoping that God would rescue her someday from her predicament.
A visit to the hospital for a medical opinion revealed that she was pregnant and HIV positive. This news shook her but she had no more tears; she had forgotten how to cry.
With characteristic numbness Savitribai went about her job, but in the fifth month of pregnancy, intense pain and profuse bleeding led Savitribai to be taken to a hospital by Gangubai, a peer who had been helping Savitribai come to terms with her HIV status. Upon reaching the hospital, she was told that there was no doctor available, and was referred to Aurangabad. The journey to Aurangabad was sheer agony for Savitribai.
Gangubai soon took matters into her hands and called up Asadullah, the Project Coordinator at Setu Charitable Trust. Supported by Avert Society, the Trust helped the HIV infected in the Setu-Jalna.
On being told about Savitribai, Asadullah deputed outreach workers to her aid. They made sure that she was admitted to the hospital, where she was informed she would have to undergo an operation for delivery. The doctors were still afraid to treat her. Her HIV was turning out to be her worst enemy.
Asadullah, along with a counselor rushed to the hospital and appealed to the doctors in vain.
Savitribai was forced to leave the hospital and get admitted in a private hospital. When the staff at Setu got wind of this, they intervened and subsequently Savitribai was shifted to Aurangabad. One doctor, sympathetic to her plight, arranged to look after Savitribai and enlisted the help of the Setu workers, who arranged blood for Savitribai. She gave birth to a baby boy who was diagnosed with the virus and died after a week. Savitribai, shattered and broken, returned back to Jalna after an arduous journey.
Amidst all that was going on with her, for the first time in her life, Savitribai experienced a twinge of hope. It bloomed amidst all her pain and humiliation, when she remembered all that Gangubai, the peer educator and the Setu workers had done for her - with no expectations.
After she recovered, Savitribai was determined to do something – to rekindle a new-found hope and faith in humanity.
Today Savitribai is a proud peer educator trained by Avert Society, learning all she can about HIV and spreading the hope - that no mother needs to die while giving life!