Jemma Toppo in front of Asha Kiran, the home set up for rescued girls. Picture by Prashant Mitra

Very few people are aware that the Jharkhand Domestic Workers’ Welfare Trust coordinator, Jemma Toppo, is a lawyer, holding an LLB degree in addition to a BEd.

Hailing from Chhattisgarh, from where she completed her matriculation, Toppo moved to Ranchi where she enrolled herself in BA (honours) in Hindi at St Xavier’s College in 1975. She completed her law course from Ranchi University and since she had earlier opted to become a nun, Toppo moved to Delhi where she completed her course in theology.

Toppo talks to Rudra Biswas inside the campus of Ursuline Convent overlooking the Church of Mary and Jesus off Purulia Road.

lWhen was the Jharkhand Domestic Workers’ Welfare Trust set up?

The trust was already existing when I took over in 2001. It was a small organisation without an office, staff or even the required infrastructure to run its operations. It was a small-time affair then. In 2001, we started the rescue programme. The girls, who we managed to rescue from Delhi and other places where they were lodged as domestic help and from brothels, were brought to Ursuline Convent and since there was no place to provide shelter to them, we managed to lodge them privately with the sisters, in convents and other places. The trust has also joined the anti-child labour campaign. Beginning January next year, we would begin a rag pickers’ programme wherein we intend to rehabilitate thousands of children employed as rag pickers.

lHow do you rescue girls?

Information of tortured domestic help are passed on to us by relatives, friends, self-help groups and the state and national-level network of the trust as well as from common citizens. Once or twice we had sought police help but on most occasions our volunteers take on this task upon themselves.

lWhat was the response of the church then and now?

Earlier, many of our own sisters were opposed to the idea of keeping rescued girls on our campus. I still remember that since we did not have the required official permission to keep rescued girls with ourselves and in our convent, these girls were secretly lodged with some of the sisters in their rooms as well as at safe locations elsewhere in the convent and other places. In 2001, I demanded an office for the trust. With a great deal of effort and persuasion, I managed to get permission for an office within the campus of Ursuline Convent.

lHow much help, including monetary help, do you receive from the church?

Let me make it clear that the trust or Asha Kiran, the home of rescued girls that we have managed to set up, does not receive any help from the church. The church and Cardinal Telesphore P. Toppo are aware of our activities and even appreciate our good work, though I have never sought any help from them. We do not receive any help from the state government, either.

lHow did you set up Asha Kiran?

The state welfare department had constructed a multi-storied building within the campus of this convent. The building was, however, left unfinished without doors and windows for want of funds.

We had approached the welfare officials many times, who could not help much about the funds. Meanwhile, we had started the task of rescuing girls from brothels and Delhi homes where they were either sexually abused or tortured. For two years, we had a bad time keeping these rescued girls. A contractor was finally persuaded to donate a collapsible gate for the building. Once the gate was in place, we began to keep the girls there, though the building still did not have doors or windows. Rotary Club of Belgium and Rotary Club, Ranchi South, came forward to our rescue last year.

An LPG dealer donated five gas cylinders and a stove while a citizen gave us five sewing machines, which helped us to provide tailoring lessons to the girls. Anosh Ekka, the rural development minister, donated Rs 10,000.

lIs the donation that you receive sufficient to support these girls?

As the girls grow up, they need to be educated which means that more funds are necessary by way of tuition fees, schoolbooks, dress material and cash for specialised training. A little money is also collected from sale of shawls, embroidered saris and other craft items made by our girls and sold through a shop at Sainik Bazar.

lWhat rehabilitation courses do you run to put the girls on their own feet?

At Asha Kiran, we run tailoring, embroidery and flower-making courses. We also organise leadership training programmes and other awareness courses on trafficking, child labour, women’s rights and issues. Besides, we offer nursing training at N.M. Training College, Lohardaga.

lDo you intend to stop migration, given the large number of cases where girls are sexually abused?

Migration cannot be stopped. From Jharkhand, thousands of men, women and children flock to other states in search of jobs to keep body and soul together. Rough estimates reveal that at least 60 per cent of the girls who run away from homes are sold off to brothels in the metros and even abroad.

lThere is a complaint that you keep the rescued girls in prison-like conditions.

Asha Kiran is not a jail. We are responsible for the safety of all girls we rescue. We cannot allow them to roam around unescorted. We allow girls to buy necessary stuff from local markets though there is a strict rule that they should go in groups. When these girls visit their families, we ensure that they are escorted by their parents.