Ranjna's Rescue Mission

Kiwi-Indian businesswoman Ranjna Patel is battling domestic violence with compassion and counselling.

- Judy Bailey

It’s not everyone who can persuade cops to clean their windows with a toothbrush – but Ranjna Patel is not an ordinary woman and this was not an ordinary house. She’d bought it with the idea of making it the third of her homes for domestic violence offenders.

A former P lab, it needed a comprehensive clean-up and her friends at the Counties Manukau Police were only too happy to lend a hand. They’ve been partners in Ranjna’s Gandhi Nivas project from the beginning.

The house sits at the bottom of a shingle driveway in Papakura, South Auckland, but the shingle was a concern as the noise of police cars driving down in the night to drop men off could wake the neighbours, so officers organised to have the driveway compacted to reduce noise.

They also cleaned the house and cleared the extensive garden, keen to help the woman who has contributed so much to their local community.

The troubled men who come to Ranjna’s Gandhi Nivas homes all have police safety orders issued against them, which require them to leave their family home for a few days as a response to low-level family violence. It’s an imposed “cooling off” period.

Before Gandhi Nivas appeared on the scene, these men often had nowhere to go. They’d sleep in their cars, drink and often return home, despite the orders – a disaster waiting to happen. Ranjna’s three properties have become a game changer for police and these men.

At the homes, they have a temporary bed for as long as they need, nutritious meals and, most importantly, the opportunity to talk to qualified counsellors at any time of the day or night.