Mentally ill get a saviour in Mohamed Rafi

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Whenever Mohamed Rafi sees mentally ill persons wandering in the streets, he tells them, “Come with me. I will get you food.

” He then takes them to a nearby hotel, gets them food and admits them to his Anbagam Rehabilitation Centre, Thirunilai village post, Vichur, near Manali New Town.

Born in Kannur, Kerala, as a young boy, Rafi hardly got a square meal a day. “I had no food to eat and that’s why now I make sure everyone around me eats food at the right time. I studied only till class 6 and moved to Chennai to start my own business,” said 53-year-old Rafi.

It was in 1999 that he saw a mentally ill person wandering near Gemini flyover. “I watched him for a month. One day, I asked him if I could get him something to eat.

He came along with me to a hotel and I admitted him to Karunai Illam. He was Eshwar Jenna from Cuttack,” said Rafi, who never thought he would start a rehabilitation centre till Brother Xavier of Karunai Illam asked him to start his own facility.

“It was difficult to get a home on rent. I informed my wife and shifted my home to the first floor and started the centre in my own house in 1999.

In 2001, we moved to the present place. I’m just a founder-trustee of the Trust for Education and Rehabilitation of Disabled, Orphans and Destitutes which takes care of Anbagam. Trust members, friends and donors help me,” informed Rafi.

Though Anbagam was initially started for wandering, mentally ill men, after the state’s financial support from 2010, they have started admitting women.

“There are 17 women and 90 men and we’re constructing a building to accommodate more women. There are patients from all states.

My aim is to take care of them, rehabilitate and reunite them with their family,” said Rafi, who recalled how he felt when he first reunited Eshwar with his family in a village in Cuttack.

“The whole family was present at the station and they were happy to see Eshwar. Family support and understanding are must for these patients,” explained Rafi.

Anbagam has so far rehabilitated and reunited 633 persons. Raju is one such patient who was wandering near the centre and underwent treatment in 2003.

“He recovered and went to his village in Orissa. Now he’s working as a cook here and will be getting married in January.

Some people keep in touch but it’s hard to maintain contact with everyone as I like to spend more time with those at the centre now,” said Rafi, who is willing to share his experience with NGOs wishing to start their own rehabilitation centre.He can be contacted on 9444009988.