JM Financial Foundation hosts Haldi-Kumkum ceremony for Covid-widowed mothers in Pune

Pune, January 26, 2024: JM Financial Foundation (JMFF), the CSR arm of JM Financial Group, organized a Haldi-Kumkum ceremony for Covid-widowed mothers and their children on January 14, 2024, in Pune. The event, held on the occasion of Makar Sankranti, was part of JM Financial Shiksha Samarthan, a nationwide CSR project providing financial aid for school education to children who lost one or both parents to Covid.

Of the 166 invited beneficiary mothers in and around Pune, 64 participated in the ceremony. The initiative stemmed from last year when, on Makar Sankranti, the mothers expressed a sense of isolation during virtual celebrations. The event aimed to bring joy to the mothers and address the socio-cultural challenges they face after losing their husbands.

JMFF representatives began the day by acknowledging the mothers' strength in facing life's challenges, followed by traditional rituals. Accompanied by their mothers, 89 children enjoyed games, music, and dance organized by the Foundation. The event provided an opportunity for the mothers to dance with abandon, a privilege now cherished by them.

Commenting on the initiative, one of the project representatives from JM Financial Foundation said, “In the process of supporting children’s education, our team got deeply involved with the surviving families, especially the mothers. What started as phone-calls and meetings to guide them with our processes, transcended very organically into a safe space, where the mothers could share their grief and we could offer some strength. Our support goes beyond offering financial aid for education to children and attempts to helping their mothers become independent – emotionally and financially. The goal of organising programmes like the Haldi-Kumkum ceremony is to help them realise that they are not alone. Together, they can find strength in themselves and each other, to face some of the toughest of life’s challenges.”

 Speaking at the ceremony, one of the mothers said, “Till now, we were ‘Ardhangini’, but today, I can gladly say that each of us is a ‘Purnangini’ – the complete, because we’re doing everything ourselves” 

The celebration marks a reformation in the socio-cultural approach towards women who have lost their husbands. This initiative, first organized on January 26, 2023, involving 105 Shiksha Samarthan mothers and their children, continues to contribute to fostering a sense of joy and inclusivity for these families.