Savithri’s Story
Back in August during a Sunday morning video call to India, we had the chance to hear an extraordinary story about one of the New Horizons House girls. Her name is Savithri (pseudonym), and she is currently staying at the New Horizons Transition House. Johnson, one of our NHH directors, shared this story in order to demonstrate the tremendous growth, resilience and courage that he witnesses each week while visiting with the girls and young women at New Horizons House.
Sunday is a special time for the young women who live at the Transition House. In the afternoon, I have a chance to sit with them and talk about our lives. On many occasions, the conversation turns to New Horizons and how they came to be here and how the organization is supporting them and creating positive change.Over many Sunday chats, I’ve had the chance to get to know Savithri. Our conversations have been rich with honesty, and I’ve been so impressed with her openness as she shares about her life. Savithri never knew her biological father. She was raised by her mother and a stepfather who sexually abused her. This horrible abuse led to her eventually coming to NHH. Savithri recently learned the identity of her biological father, a man she had never previously met. Unfortunately, he is suffering from a kidney disease, and she has to travel to the local hospital to see him. With the support of New Horizons, she started to visit him every week.
“Until I came to New Horizons,” Savithri said, “I never understood what it meant to have a trusting relationship with a parent or with anyone. It is only now that I understand what a truly loving relationship means and that this kind of relationship is even possible.”
During this process of connecting with her father and getting to know him, Savithri also developed a passion for understanding hospitals and how they are managed and organized. As a result of witnessing the care and compassion shown to her father by the hospital staff, Savithri recently enrolled at Browning Junior College in their Hospital Management course of study. She is currently thriving in this new learning environment.
After Johnson shared this story with us during the Sunday video call, he smiled and said that Savithri happened to be close by. He invited her to sit and visit with us for a few minutes. As Johnson translated, we were able to chat with her while she expressed her appreciation to New Horizons House for the opportunity to be a member of the NHH community. Her smile was lovely and radiant, and her positive energy transcended any words that we shared that morning.
Savithri’s story demonstrates the transformative power of love, healing and growth in the life of one young woman whose future is being shaped by New Horizons’ incredible staff. This would not be possible without our generous donors who help to fund New Horizons House. Thank you for supporting young women like Savithri and helping them to fulfill their dreams and to understand that loving relationships are indeed possible.
Tim Hillmer – NHH Board Member