1. DESIGN FOR CHANGE CONTEST<br />School Information Kendriya Vidyalaya No 1 Airforce Station ,Tambaram<br /> Madambakkam,Chennai 600073<br /> Principal Mr.S.C. Kani<br />Team Information Akila Class VIII C<br /> S.Lavanya VIII A<br /> Vikas Nair-VIII C<br /> Kavinsha- VIII C- All from 12-13 years age group<br /> Teacher Guide- Mrs.S.Casilda Nimmi, TGT English,KV1 AFS <br /> Tambaram<br />Title of our story WOMB TO TOMB- MOTHER IS MOTHER<br />OUR STORY (TO CHANGE THE WORLD )<br /> WOMB TO TOMB -MOTHER IS MOTHER is dedicated to ‘mothers’<br />Oh God, we thank you for creating a day called ‘mothers’ day’ and a contest called ‘Super mom’ ! Otherwise ‘mothers’ may have been forgotten.We proclaim ‘there is no substitute for a mother’,inclusive of a surrogate mother.<br /> When Vikas,our friend saw his mother’s womb-her uterus in a tray carried by a nurse, he was surprised.Due to some tumour in it,the mother had to go for an emergency operation.How small and insignificant the uterus looked.He wondered that he was in this womb , safely and comfortably kept for nearly nine months by his mother-ofcourse by the law of nature ! He felt the pain of his mother-not the labour pain but the pain she had during and after the emergency operation.A mother bears so many pains which go unnoticed.<br /> When we were in cradles, our mothers were sleepless for hours.Their melodious lullaby and their chantings for our good health reveal their selfless love .As young children, we are attached to our mothers.We admire the mother animals and birds.How caressing they are! Our human mothers are also so loving. We obey them.But why do we find a change in us gradually?<br /> One old Christian mother who lost her husband made her own tomb next to her husband’s while she was alive, fearing her two well –settled sons would fail to do it.She gave some amount to her priest before her death to carry out the last rites.Was the mother neglected?<br /> Akila ,our friend says that her widowed grandmother, the mother of her mother can never stay more than two days in her house.Her father expects her to stay alone or with any one of her sons.But her father’s mother is always with them.When Akila asked for the reason, the father told that is Indian custom.We ,the young Indian citizens want to know why there is a discrimination - father’s mother and mother’s mother.Mother is mother.Let her live at her old age at a place she desires.We collected a true incident that happened in Chennai which was so shocking. The only daughter of a mother killed her own, old mother for the daughter’s husband was not ready to keep the old lady at home.The couple picked up quarrels over it and so the daughter with her stone heart had to send her mother to her tomb.Where is our virtue that we are nurtured with, right from the womb?<br /> One of Lavanya’s neigbours recently came to know that he lost his mother. The mother’s death was so pathetic. The neigbour uncle has one more brother in Chennai at a distance. After the father’s death ,the property was divided into two equal parts and an agreement to keep the old mother one month each in turn was made. So the mother could stay in a son’s place only for a month. By the last day of each month she had to travel by herself to the other son’s place. What a sad plight was for the mother! One fine morning, while the mother was boarding a bus, she fell down and died. Since she had no identity proof with herself, her body was taken to the Government hospital and kept in the mortuary. The son who had completed his turn was not bothered for a month to call up his brother to know how their mother was. Similarly the other son who had to keep the mother was not bothered about her and he thought that his brother continued to keep their mother for one more month. After nearly one and a half month when the two sons spoke to each other, they found their mother missing and later received the body from the mortuary. All the sweat the mother had on her in bringing up her two sons had turned into ice !<br />Why should there be home for the aged – for those who have their own children leading a comfortable life? Many children who have settled in abroad have admitted their parents, mothers or fathers in such homes. They pay the fees and hardly visit them. As a field work for this DFC project we visited a home for the aged with our teacher Mrs.S.Casilda Nimmi.To our surprise, we collected a data that tells that 75 % of the people have their own sons or daughters well settled in Chennai itself. About 20 % of the old people have their children abroad and 5 % of the people are childless. An old woman hugged Kavinsha with tears and said that her granddaughter would be of her age and she is in the USA.The poor mothers in the home for the aged are with one more pain- negligence .They never complain but their eyes reveal it.<br /> Mothers are treated like servants in some places. Both the son and the daughter –in-law go for work and the old mother does all kinds of chores. Another trend we find nowadays is an Indian old mother flies to the USA for taking care of the grand children for six months. She returns to India so exhausted. Will this mother be given the terminal care by the USA settled son or daughter at her last stage?<br /> My dear young friends, it is time to contemplate on the issue of deserting or neglecting mothers as we grow old. Mother is always ‘super mom’. Both of our parents are so precious for us. It is said ‘the values that the parents leave in the children are greater than the valuables they leave to them’ We have sensitized this issue in our school with slogans on the value of a mother/ a father. We have taken oaths that we will keep our parents with us forever. We will respect our mothers. Whether the child is a son or a daughter, the mother is the same. From her womb we came. Till she reaches her tomb, it is our bound duty to love her, protect her, and caress her. Will you also join us to spread this message- young, old, or very old -mother is mother-so keep loving her !<br />Thank you!<br /> <br /> <br /> <br /> <br />