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Obituary
Unnikammu Moideenkutty
We are sad to announce the passing of Unnikammu Moideenkutty in September this year. Unnikammu was one of the first CTAs in India specialized in the Organisations field. He was instrumental in encouraging Fr. George Kandathil, Founder Director of the ICTA, to train people to become CTAs in the 1990s. He was the one who introduced P K Saru to Fr. George with whom she trained as a CTA and started her first TA training group in Coimbatore. Many of the current transactional analysts in India owe their gratitude to Unnikammu for his visionary idea to initiate TA training in India. SAATA pays homage to and conveys its warm sympathies to the bereaved family.
Saroj Welch
Sarojini Welch (nee Sarojini Macwana) passed on at the age of 96 on 28 August 2022. Saroj trained in the United States as a psychiatric social worker and counseling psychologist. It is difficult to think of Saroj without thinking of her husband, Carlos Welch, who passed on 2 years ago. The Welches served as missionaries of the Board of Global Ministries of the United Methodist Church for 42 years, developing pastoral care and counseling programs. They established several counseling centers, including Parivarthan, Bangalore. They were two of the earliest TA Teaching Members and pioneers in developing counseling and TA in India, primarily in Jabalpur, Vellore, Bangalore, and New Delhi. Saroj and Carlos were also supportive of Athma Shakthi Vidyalaya (ASV), a therapeutic community for severely disturbed young adults founded by Jacqui Schiff. Saroj had several parenting contracts, and, in the words of her son Ashwin Kumar in a touching letter to his mother on Mother’s Day in 2014, which she shared with his permission: “you taught me that there are many people who don’t have mothers like you. And you took them into your home. You helped them heal. You gave them as much love as you gave me, and there was still enough for me. You helped reparent those young men and women with broken minds, loving them into wholeness and health.”
It was not unusual to see Saroj knitting or weaving for community service. In retirement in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, USA, she continued to involve herself in the stitching community. Saroj is survived by Ashwin and Peg, Ravi and Gunhild, Arun and Jody, Yasmin and Joe, five grandchildren, and six great grandchildren.
Suriyaprakash C: I met Saroj, with Carlos, at a TA Study Circle meeting. They both stood up to introduce themselves. What followed for about 3 minutes was mesmerizing. One would start a sentence, and the other would complete it. That was only the beginning of a long period of learning not just from their therapy and training marathons but from what they lived, loved, and modeled. Saroj was gentle, firm, strong, and fully present. Such a full life needs to be celebrated even in death. Bless us, Saroj!
Note: This article was first published in the October 2022 issue of The Script. It is reprinted here with the permission of the International Transactional Analysis Association, which holds the copyright.
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