Katrina's little darlings

TOI joined her in this remote village where the Bollywood actress went unrecognised. “Her work with underprivileged children here has won her a permanent place in our hearts,’’ said an office bearer of the Claretian Mercy Home, a project run to eradicate female infanticide and to shelter abandoned aged people.How did Kat get involved in this cause? And, why did shechoose a village so far flung from Mumbai to do her charity work in? It happensthat the actress’ mother, Sussanne Turquotte, heads an organisation calledRelief Projects India (RPI) in Chennai. She has been fighting female infanticidefor years and Katrina, who empathises with the cause, is lending a hand. Povertyin Azhagusirai is so rife that families cannot afford to raise a girl childbecause of the evil social practise of dowry prevalent there.Thegirl child is either killed at birth or abandoned soon after. And it is herethat the Claretian Mercy Home steps in with medical care, food, clothes and,most importantly, love until the girl child is ready for adoption into Indianhomes. Katrina and Sussanne have supervised the construction of a neo-natal andbaby care centre in Azhagusurai that receives abandoned babies who are cared forby locals under the supervision of the RPI and a Rev Fr. Franz Xavier Dirbergerfrom Germany who founded the Claretian Mercy Home in 1986.Katrina isso involved that she just started a department dedicated to provide skilldevelopment facilities to children who are in the toddler age. She calls thiswing ‘Little Darlings’. The actress intends to start a separate homefor the care of children who are not likely to be adopted because of physicaldisabilities. Sources indicate that Kat is also keen to start a similar projectcloser to Mumbai where she can invest her time and energies into bringing a rayof hope into the lives of the less fortunate. And you thought she was just adiva on screen!Check out Katrina Kaif’s homepageFollow us on Twitter for more stories