Austin Group Helping Unwed Mothers In India

Austin Group Helping Unwed Mothers In India

Seema Mathur

Reporting

(CBS 42) Being pregnant and not married is a hardship in this country, but

in India you can be ostracized for it.

Austin's The Miracle Foundation has been rescuing orphaned children in India

for about six years. Now they are also helping unwed mothers.

CBS 42's Seema Mathur traveled across the globe to report on the work this

Austin group is doing.

The fear of social stigma is breaking this family apart. The father and

mother part with their unwed pregnant daughter.

“It is taboo to be pregnant and unwed in this country,” said Caroline

Boudreaux, The Miracle Foundation founder. “Your family is ostracized. You

are definitely ostracized. It's so taboo that you can be killed for it.”

That’s why a young woman, who's privacy CBS 42 is protecting, left her

village and went to live at The Miracle Foundation's home for unwed mothers.

“We offer them secrecy so they can come and have their baby and no one will

ever know,” Boudreaux said.

The Miracle Foundation says they started the program because unwed mothers

were abandoning their babies.

One child, Joseph, was found as a newborn by the riverbanks starving and

with a broken arm.

Many abandoned babies have been rescued, but some are not so lucky.

“Some of the babies are being killed and we want the girls to know we offer

them an alternative,” Boudreaux said.

That message is spreading. A 17-year-old unwed mother went there four months

ago.

“He told me that he will marry me, we will have a house together,” she said.

Her story is common--boys tricking girls into sex with the promise of

marriage. It is a strong lure in this tribal society, where marriage often

equals success and security.

“What did your boyfriend say when you said this is your baby, you promised

marriage?” Seema Mathur asked the girl.

“He said the baby is not mine,” she replies. “It must have happened with

someone else before. I've made a big mistake and I have shamed my family. I

can't go back.”

She says if people find out, her sisters won't be able to get married

because of the shame she's brought on their family.

“I cry a lot,” she said. “That I can never go back home.”

Instead the young lady will join the close to 50 other unwed mothers who

have been protected by The Miracle Foundation.

“Nobody else is taking care of them,” Boudreaux said. “They are the lowest

of the low. People shun them.”

The unwed mothers get vocational training to gain independence. Some stay

and take care of babies at The Miracle Foundation's orphanage. They care for

babies like Joseph, who was found near death.

CBS 42’s Seema Mathur learned some women are able pretend they just went

away for an education and return home, another reason for the secrecy.

The women get pre-natal care and so far all have released their babies for

adoption.

What happens to the male? Sometimes there will be pressure on him to marry

the girl, but Mathur says most of the time he walks away free.