Jessymol's Story

Jessymol who is sixteen years old studies at Grade 8. Jessymol has her father, mother, elder brother and sister at home. Mother has been a mental patient for 16 years and she is at home. Her father is a painter. Her elder brother discontinued his studies and works for daily wages. Her elder sister is a higher secondary student. The condition of her family became worse when the doctor diagnosed her mother’s severe paranoid schizophrenia. She explained this regretfully.

Challenges
Jessymol has frankly shared me that she suffers much humiliation and is humiliated often. She cannot tolerate the scorching comments from her maternal grandmother. Grandmother often says to her.
“My daughter became a mental patient since you were born”
She feels …show more content…
She will get angry with me and my sister.”
“When my mother becomes too sick, she will yell out certain bitter life experiences of the past. This cause quarrels at home”.
Jessymol has pointed out a particular incident. The first child of her mother died in the womb before the birth. Mother says informally that this had happened because her family members, they had killed the child by stamping on her stomach. Her Father also agrees with this comment. This results quarrel between father and mother. Jessymol says that her mother doesn’t like father and she hates him. When this kind of conversation prevails at regular intervals at home it affects her studies adversely.
It has been quite a long time since they have taken food together and have gone for a tour. She says
“When the father is at home mother goes out of the home. Even when it is the night she walks outside so very often father comes home only after her mother is asleep”.
When I come back from school food won’t be prepared. One of the neighbors usually gives her food. Mother doesn’t like me going to that house. But I go there and have food from there without the permission of my mother. Often she buys food from the