Donate Groceries to Differently Abled and Make a Life by what you Give
We first heard of Gharkul on Aaj ki Raat hai Zindagi, a program on STAR TV. Gharkul is a public charitable trust, based out of Mumbai. Since its origin in 2007, it has been operating as a school for mentally challenged children in order to meet their special needs. Under the guidance of Sunil Satpute, the school is a ‘Taare Zameen Par’ version with not just one child but with many who grew up to be a weight on the parents. However, for Satpute, these children who put the stars in the sky. He decided to serve them with his determination to not let poverty overtake their lives.
Sunil Satpute has founded Gharkul in order to cater to the differently-abled children from the slums of Mumbai with educational and vocational help. Often, with the inadequacy to afford a decent living, most of these children spend their whole lives between four walls forgetting what the outside world is like. Being caged, they find it difficult to breathe without suffocation and live without fear. Sunil’s decision to serve them has brought a ray of sunshine to many who could not get the kind of treatment and the education that they need.
Poverty has been a compassionate topic to Satpute, as he lived in the Dharavi Slums, Mumbai during Varadarajan’s reign. He spent his evenings near sewage pipes and loaded drainages. He has had an alcoholic and unemployed father who would abuse his mother, as she held odd jobs to make ends meet. She struggled to keep Sunil away from the negative influences. Sunil climbed his way up and acquired a B.Ed degree from Kirti College in Mumbai. It is when he decided that no child should see the fate that he has seen. He started giving what he earned back, in bits and pieces at first.
“The atmosphere at home was so terrible; I had to be career-oriented. I ended up entering the social field when a friend couldn’t continue presiding over a social initiative and asked me to step in. I was never inclined to work in the corporate world; this was my calling. I was disturbed because of the circumstances at home and would find solace and happiness with these children. I learnt that these children spent their entire lives within four walls. The families would tell us that they couldn’t afford the fees to send them to special schools. I felt terrible,” he says.
After teaching for months on a sidewalk in a slum, he wanted to continue his line of teaching to the differently abled. He got a formal Masters degree in Social Work after a gap of ten years. He also studied law in order to provide people with legal help. During the initial stage, he approached several NGOs to accommodate the differently-abled children, but the trustees did not accept them. He found Navratna, one such building and convinced the authorities on using the space. He started Gharkul with eight children who would come and spend time at the centre for a few months. But with time, more children started pouring in, and the funding was less.
With children suffering from learning difficulties, Down’s syndrome, autism and other special needs coming to his place, Sunil wanted to turn the place into a full-fledged school. Powered by many individuals, Sunil trained the staff, special educators, therapists, psychologists, counselors and helpers to give individual attention to at least 50 children who come to Gharkul on a daily basis. A lot of people who didn’t want to fit in the corporate world found their true calling with Gharkul and are now spending time teaching these children.
The classes are held between 10:30 AM to 4:20 PM, in BMC school classrooms that are rented with the aim to create a nuanced programme that blends both mainstream curriculum and the specially designed curriculum inclusive of classes for painting, crafts, and sports. Satpute juggles between his NGO and day job and his work at Gharkul to make ends meet. In his late 40s, he works for more than 12 hours on many days. He says that most of the parents do not even bother to check on their children once they are sent to the school. A lot of them keep asking about the full-time shelter homes so that the child won’t come back at all. With his aim to run a full-fledged shelter, Sunil remains optimistic through thick and thin.
Daily meals are provided to children every day. These meals are some of the biggest expenses at Gharkul. We all have been taught that sharing is caring and it is human to give some of what we earn. Please donate your part and help the children grow both physically and mentally.
Donate here- https://www.donatekart.com/special/SS/donate-grocery/
