From Himachal to Tamil Nadu. Five Years Apart, One Long-Awaited Reunion. ❤️ When Saira Bano was found at Mandi Bus Stand in #HimachalPradesh on 11 August 2021, little was known about her family or where she came from. She was placed under care and protection at Shakti Sadan in Mandi district, where she remained for years. In August 2026, Smt. @SamritikaN, SDM Balh, reached out to India Cares to help trace Saira’s family. During the search, Saira shared two place names, Chennai and Panniyur, in #TamilNadu. We connected with @banyanbalm, whose team helped pursue these leads and circulate her story. Then came the breakthrough. Saira’s nephew was traced, and a video call brought them face to face after nearly five years apart. Seeing and speaking to a familiar face brought Saira immense joy. During their conversation, her nephew shared that, following her parents’ deaths, Saira had reportedly been admitted to a residential care facility in Bengaluru, from where she went missing around six years ago. Now, Saira has returned to Tamil Nadu. With the cooperation and coordination of the administrations of Himachal Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, a team from Christ Faith Home for Children (Sakthi Sadan), Chennai, led by its President, Sunitha Joe, travelled to Mandi to accompany her back. With no immediate family available to care for her, Saira will continue to receive care, support and rehabilitation at Sakthi Sadan, where she will be supported with dignity and compassion. Our heartfelt thanks to Smt. @SamritikaN, SDM Balh, for initiating this effort through Mission Apno Tak, and to @banyanbalm for their invaluable support in tracing Saira’s family when we reached out for help. We are deeply grateful to Sunitha Joe and the Christ Faith Home for Children (Sakthi Sadan), Chennai, team for travelling to Mandi and accompanying Saira back to Tamil Nadu with care and dignity. We also sincerely acknowledge the cooperation of the district administration and care teams in Himachal Pradesh, and the authorities in Tamil Nadu, whose collective efforts helped make her return possible. Five years of separation, one long-awaited video call, and a return to the land she remembers as home. For Saira Bano, this is the beginning of a new chapter. #IndiaCares

PRAMILA, FINALLY REUNITED WITH HER FAMILY. Smt. Pramila Malik is finally with her family in Kendrapada, Odisha. After decades apart, she is standing with her sister, her son and the family she had been separated from for so long. What began with a few clues in Himachal Pradesh travelled all the way to Odisha, with people on both sides coming together to follow the trail and make this reunion possible. Our heartfelt thanks to everyone who played a part in bringing Pramila back to her family. #IndiaCares

AFTER NEARLY THREE YEARS, 63-YEAR-OLD RAMAPPA IS BACK WITH HIS FAMILY Ramappa Gangannavar, from Kalganur in Gadag, #Karnataka, had been separated from his family for nearly three years and was living at an old-age home in Bhangrotu, Mandi, #HimachalPradesh. The breakthrough came when Shri Ravinandan B M, IPS, connected with Ramappa over a video call and spoke to him in Kannada. Hearing his own language helped Ramappa share details about his village and family, providing crucial leads to trace his loved ones. What followed was a coordinated effort involving the administration and welfare authorities in Himachal Pradesh and Karnataka. Ramappa’s family was traced in Gadag, and he has now returned home and been reunited with them. We are deeply grateful to Shri Ravinandan B M, IPS, for making that crucial connection possible. Our sincere thanks to @SamritikaN, SDM Balh, Mandi district, for her role in helping Ramappa find his way back to his family, and for her continued work through Mission Apno Tak in bringing separated families back together. A special note of gratitude to Shri Chandrappa B. Gokak, Assistant Secretary, Central Relief Committee, @SWDGoK, Government of Karnataka, who personally came to Mandi to facilitate Ramappa’s return to Karnataka. Three years of separation came to an end because people across two states came together with one shared purpose: to bring Ramappa back to his family. His return is a reminder that when we come together, even the longest separations can be overcome. #IndiaCares

35 YEARS AFTER SHE WENT MISSING, PRAMILA IS FINALLY GOING HOME. For nearly 35 years, Smt. Pramila Malik had been missing from her family in #Odisha. At a shelter home in #HimachalPradesh, she was known as Ramkali. A tattoo on her arm, fragments of memories and the names of a few villages she remembered became the clues that helped trace her family. Shri Amiya Kumar Malik, @odisha_police, took these clues forward and helped set the search in motion. His efforts brought Shri Pranaya Rout from #Delhi into the search, who then connected with Shri Ranjan Malik in #Hyderabad. Together, they followed the trail back to Odisha and finally traced Pramila’s family. Her son was just one-and-a-half years old when she went missing. Today, he is 37. After all these years, Pramila finally saw and spoke to her family over a video call. Her sister and other relatives saw her again. For a family that had spent decades not knowing where she was, it was an emotional moment. And now, Pramila has left Himachal Pradesh and is on her way back to Odisha, accompanied by her brother-in-law and Odisha Police personnel. Our heartfelt gratitude to Shri Amiya Kumar Malik, Shri Pranaya Rout and Shri Ranjan Malik for coming together and taking this search forward. And our sincere thanks to @SamritikaN, SDM Balh, Mandi District, whose initiative set this search in motion. When people come together and refuse to give up, even a 35-year-old search can find its way home. #IndiaCares

Five years. That’s how long Mamta had been away from her family. Today, she is finally going back. Mamta was found unconscious in Una, #HimachalPradesh, on 30 May 2021. For years, she could not provide enough information for her family to be traced. Earlier this month, after her family was finally traced, she spoke to her brother Lakha over a video call for the first time in nearly five years. And today, the long-awaited journey back to her family has begun. The team from the Kapurthala district administration travelled to Mandi, Himachal Pradesh, to bring Mamta back to Punjab. She has now been handed over to the team and is on her way to the State Protective Home, Jalandhar, where the necessary formalities will be completed before she is taken to her family in Kapurthala, #Punjab. What makes this moment special is how people came together to make it happen. The administration, police, social workers and those who refused to let the search end with simply finding Mamta all played a part in helping her get back to her family. A heartfelt thank you to @Adityak_IPS, SSP Gurdaspur (@PP_Gurdaspur); Akash Bansal, Deputy Commissioner, Kapurthala; and @dilipkpandey for coming together and making Mamta’s journey back home possible. Our sincere gratitude to the Mandi district administration and Shakti Sadan, Lunapani, for standing by Mamta and caring for her through these years. And a very special thank you to @SamritikaN, SDM Balh, Mandi, who initiated Mission Apno Tak and stayed with Mamta’s story until her family was found. What started with a few fragments of memory has finally brought Mamta back to where she belongs. After five years, Mamta is finally going back to her family. #IndiaCares

After five years, Saira Bano finally found her family. Saira Bano, around 50, was rescued from Mandi Bus Stand, #HimachalPradesh, on 11 August 2021. Unable to provide enough information to trace her family, she was placed at Shakti Sadan, Lunapani, Mandi, where she remained under care and support. She had only a few details to share: her mother’s name, her brother’s name and that she was from Tamil Nadu. Those details finally gave the search a direction. With the initiative of @SamritikaN, SDM Balh, the search was taken up by @vjayakumar and The @banyanbalm team. They worked on the information available, followed the leads and successfully traced Saira’s family in #TamilNadu. Today, Saira finally spoke to her nephew over a video call. After five years apart, they could see and speak to each other again. We are deeply grateful to @SamritikaN for initiating this effort, and to @vjayakumar and The @banyanbalm team for taking up the search and helping bring Saira and her family back in touch after five long years. A connection lost for five years, finally restored. #IndiaCares

Talent needs an opportunity. Sometimes, a little support can change the course of a life. Awantika, 22, from Baned, Sundernagar, #HimachalPradesh, is a national-level handball player. Coming from a modest family, with her mother working as domestic help and her father as a delivery worker, she has continued to pursue her passion for sport and education. SDM Balh, @SamritikaN, noticed her potential and reached out to India Cares to explore how we could help her build a better future. We connected with @phulbagh, Archery Coach at Guru Nanak Dev University, Amritsar, #Punjab, who showed Awantika a path towards higher education and a sports scholarship. Awantika has now begun pursuing the B.P.Ed. programme at @gndu_amritsar on a sports scholarship. From Baned to GNDU, a new chapter begins. Thank you, @SamritikaN, for seeing the potential in her and reaching out to us, and heartfelt thanks to @phulbagh for guiding Awantika towards this opportunity. Wishing her the very best. May she go far, both on the field and in life. #IndiaCares

Five years later, a family found their daughter again. Mamta, around 32, was found unconscious in Una, #HimachalPradesh, on 30 May 2021. At the time, she could not communicate or recall details that could help trace her family. She was subsequently placed under institutional care at Shakti Sadan, Lunapani, Mandi, where she received care and counselling. Over the years, her memory gradually returned. She was eventually able to share a few details about her family, including her parents’ names and that she was from Kapurthala, #Punjab. Those details gave a direction to the search. After nearly five years, her family was finally traced. A video call followed, bringing Mamta and her family together on screen after all these years. The smiles, tears and emotions in that moment say it all. We are grateful to @SamritikaN (SDM Balh) for her continued efforts to see this through, @ruma_devi, Associate Professor (@PAU_LDH), for taking the search forward, and Dr. Parminder Singh for his efforts in Kapurthala that helped trace and identify Mamta’s family. After nearly five years, Mamta and her family finally found each other again. #IndiaCares