FOR A CAUSE: Some of the members of Premankur

The laughter and the lively chatter that you hear from an apartment off Hutchins Road could lure you into thinking that a kitty party is in progress, but a closer look proves enlightening. Amidst a pile of baby blankets and booties, tiny pillows and beautifully embroidered dresses sits an animated group of women, engrossed in putting together substantial hampers for babies born to poor women.

What sets these hampers apart from other goodies, such as the after-birth kits provided by the government in state-run maternity hospitals, is that every single item is hand-made by the ladies.

"The hampers are distributed among the poorest of poor, irrespective of caste or creed, because we believe that every baby has a right to decent clothes," says June Carvalho. So far, the hampers been distributed in corporations maternity hospitals in D J Halli and Cox Town, and in orphanages and shelters. 

From 75-year-old Marie D'Souza, the perfectionist who keeps a close watch on every busy needle, to the effervescent Lydia Fernandes, the quietly efficient Jaya Miranda and the supremely organized Yvonne Pereira, all the members of Premankur have been cheerfully pooling in time, talent and resources for nearly two years now to clothe scores of newborns whose parents find survival a daily struggle.

To say they are gifted seamstresses would be doing them an injustice. Their dedication is inspiring. Quick to deflect attention from themselves, they insist that they owe their success to a silent army of supporters like the tailors who willingly give them bits of cloth, the boutique owners who set aside lengths of pretty fabric, and the friends who pitch in with offerings of wool, old salwars and bedsheets.

"Beginning with the lady who gave us our seed capital of Rs 2500, we have received support from so many people," says Yvonne Pereira, former president and current member of Premankur. Such support apart, the group runs on oiled wheels because the women set a premium on professionalism. Accounts are audited, minutes of meetings are documented, and decisions are taken in a democratic manner. For audit purposes, Premankur comes under the umbrella of We Care, a not-for-profit organization, but is autonomous in every other respect.

Fulfilled by the smiles of the new mums they visit, the ladies of Premankur want to augment their hampers with some nutritious food this season. "We hope our small initiative will inspire many other women in other parts of the city to reach out to their less fortunate sisters," says Carol Beck, president of Premankur.

Every hamper contains:

1 baby quilt and pillow
3 wrappers
1 flannel coat, a cap and a pair of booties
4 chemises
5 nappies
1 nightdress for the mother