Donate to Orphanage by Sindhu Tai Sakpal (Mai)

Donation to a noble cause– Orphanage in India

 

Sindhu Tai Sakpal (Mai), “mother” to over 1,500 orphaned children, died at 75 on January 4, 2022. She was an Indian social worker and devoted herself to helping orphans in India, which today has one of the largest orphan populations of 30MM children. Please consider a donation to continue her cause…

 

Happy New Year to all my friends. I am positive that you are having a nice start to the year. Some of you may have your resolutions still intact while others have given up on them. I wish everyone a happy, prosperous year ahead. 2022 will be the year where your dreams come true.

 

While we are working on our “make me rich” goals or “raise my kids” goals or “let me live happily'' goals, I want to take a moment of your time and reach out to your inner self. In the following part of this letter, I would like to provide a quick overview of Indian poverty and the dire state that orphans in India live, share the history of the great human being, Sindhutai Sakpal, who recently passed away, provide details of her humble cause to raise orphans as her own kids, and finally make a plea to donate money to her cause through this channel.

 

Orphans in India: India is the largest democracy with 1.4 billion people. It is developing as a nation, both economically and structurally, thanks to globalization. However, the divide between haves and have-nots is still significant. 20% of the population is below the poverty line. One of the problems which are common in poor countries is a large number of orphans. India has 30MM orphaned children. Most of these are cases where parents could not support the kids. A high percentage of orphans are girls as the social system in India still treats girls as a liability, not an asset. There are multiple organizations that assist these kids and many strong personalities who make it their lifelong cause to assist such kids. I know of few individuals who have adopted such kids both in the US and in India. Not all of us have the willpower or financial strength to support human life in its entirety. However, each of us can surely contribute a helping hand to institutions like what I am going to share today. The cost of raising an orphan child with basic necessities is $25 per month. Yes, it is less than the amount when you go out for dining with your family. I am sure you realize how a small contribution from $25 to $500 can change someone’s life.

 

Sindhutai Sakpal: “Mai” (means mother) as she is lovingly called, was a strong and dedicated personality I met in my lifetime. She came from a very poor family. She was married at an age of 12 to a person who was 32 years old. Yes, she was a victim of child marriage and if you read her story you will see how she had to beg at railway platforms, sing “bhajans” at temples and do such other chores to manage day-to-day basic needs. She had her first child, Mamta, at the side of the road where she had to use a stone to cut the umbilical cord of the kid. Rather than be sad and curse the fortune as a victim, she took upon herself to take care of the newly born kids, who were left unattended on railway platforms and temples. She attended to them as her own. Over a period of hardship, and with support from many, including the Maharashtra government, she has raised multiple institutions which take complete responsibility for orphan kids. Please refer to the following links to get a detailed history

 

Wiki link: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sindhutai_Sapkal

Mai’s website: https://www.sindhutaisapakal.org/

Ted Talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2IcEY6KHptk

 

 

I met Mai after watching a documentary movie made on her. I reached out and offered my help. She was forthcoming and although a famous personality at that time, we connected on basic human qualities of caring and doing. I still remember the day when I visited her in Pune at her house. She had returned from an overnight trip and in addition to me, there was a political leader waiting to see her. She spent not more than 10 mins with the political figure and then all her attention was towards me. On learning that I had not had a meal, she went into the kitchen herself and made “Zhunka” for me. That was the best Zhunka I had. We had a long chat and she introduced me to Vinay (her first adopted son) and Mamta (her daughter). I then visited the orphanage where I played cricket with the kids and saw their rooms and other logistics. It was a well-run show and I felt overwhelmed by the respect I was receiving. The children were excited to get candies from the US which was a treat for them.

 

All of this took place even before Mai knew the amount I was donating. I believe we connected at the core and that is what mattered. We later kept in touch and at multiple times, I would contribute small amounts. She even visited my house in Mumbai when I was in India and had a meal with my family. We were all blessed by her presence.

 

Photos of my visit to orphanage: https://www.facebook.com/kiran.rotkar/photos_albums

 

Charitable Trusts: Mai has started multiple organizations in Mumbai. One of such organizations is Sanmati Bal Niketan. Mai recently passed away but the cause will continue. It will be managed by Vinaydada and Mamtatai in the future. This is the time when they will need our support. Mai was a great orator and she used to be the source of funding for these institutions. If you have heard her speak, you will know how mesmerizing she was. Having with her demise, this charity will need our support more than before.

 

How can we help? I was discussing this with a few friends of mine in the US and realized that there is strong willpower and aspiration to support causes like this. However, the vehicle for funds transfer is not easy. I then reached out to Vinay and he has provided me permission to collect money from my US friends using Gofundme on their behalf. My objective is to collect money from my friends for this cause and then transfer it to the institution in rupees. Each donator will get a receipt and letter of appreciation from Vinaydada himself. Please see this link where Vinay has provided me explicit permission to collect funds on his behalf.

 

I humbly request each of you to consider donating small or big amounts to this cause. We all have been blessed with support and upbringing which is one of the reasons we are where we are. However, helping others who are less fortunate will be a great service to the community. If I have earned any IOUs through our relationship, I would like to encash it now through your donations. If I have not earned any to date, consider this as an advance IOU from your end which I will repay in the future.