Back to work this morning. I am energised after the weekend. I do a quick laundry and hang everything in the sun before I set off. Getting an auto is much easier today.
Sr. Mercy is back from her trip to the mother house in Tamil Nadu. Instead of supporting her and strengthening her, they have given her more things to worry about. She is exhausted from the sheer weight of responsibility, and feels very alone and under attack. I comfort her as best I can and we make a list of jobs to do. One of mine is to prepare a statement of all arrears due since September. I need the help of Sr. Celine who has the budget lists.
There is some confusion in the sisters' minds over what we are claiming in the statement. They feel safe sticking close to the budget entries, but REALITY is quite different. The money donated is used for the correct heading but often three people carry out the duties of one job title and some of these people also do other jobs. So what I really want to know in the end, is how much do we owe and to whom. This is not so easily itemised. But we make a start.
I need to get familiar with the structure of this organisation and sit down with Sr. Mercy to make an Organisational Chart. Getting the hierarchy straight takes some time and there are overlaps and doubling ups! I haven't the computer skills to make this drawing.... but am working on it.
The need to pay people is becoming more and more of a hot issue. Daily, people stream in asking for money that is simply not there. Sr. Mercy is paralysed, the bank manager won't let her take any money out of the account because he is afraid of adverse consequences and she is afraid to ask the Treasurer to sign a cheque or two because she is afraid of how the other side will twist this information.
I am holding the line for Mercy by constantly going back to the two judges' written orders. I urge Sr. Mercy to contact a new lawyer to intervene for us to clarify the situation. Her own is lethargic and un-proactive in the extreme. Has handed the file to a junior lawyer who is all at sea, and has not been able to do the simplest thing to assist her cause. As an example, we asked him a week ago to certify the English translation of the bye-law, this should have been a 48 hour turnaround). It has been handled by some clerk called "Hari" and an external person. We get the document back after 5 days and the date is wrong - 3 Dec 2010!!!!! instead of 6 Jan 2010. Are they doing this on purpose to help the other side? How did Hari allow that? I pick up the mistake after it has been through 3 people's hands. This needs to be redone after a week of being processed. We are tearing our hair out. Shoddy careless work everywhere. Grrr!
I make an impassioned plea to Babu to find someone we can talk to. He has been thinking along the same lines and is ready. He finds us someone, within an hour. We are to meet Advocate Rajan (a family friend of B's) tonight at Babu's house and get some advice on what is realistic for us to expect, what we can do, what needs to be done next etc.
A most unassuming Rajan arrives on his scooter with his two school kids. He's picked them up from music lessons. They all tumble into the house and we flush the kids upstairs to play Jenga with Big Tom. Downstairs Sr. Mercy, Babu and I talk to Rajan. After an hour of chat and going through all documents, we finally feel we are talking to someone competent and fired with virtuous indignation at what has been happening. I can see Sr. Mercy visibly relax and start to smile again. He has given us hope and courage to keep going.
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