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I remember Navkshitij ever since my memory can take me back. I remember the long meetings that Dr. Neelima Desai (Neelima aunty to me) and my mother Kanaka used to have in our house in Pune. As a child I used to think, Wow, this idea is amazing. I have been exposed to social work, […]

SOME TIME back, I was talking to a young couple about Navkshitij, highlighting the adventure activities. After hearing me out, the girl said, “You guys are doing a great job, true. But getting mentally challenged persons to do all those activities like trekking or zorbing may not be so difficult because they do not know

WE’VE often heard Dr. Neelima Desai talk about her gratitude for our colleagues’ support and unstinting love for our Friends and us. I got to experience it firsthand recently. The day before Dr. Neelima’s 60th birthday, I called our Assistant Manager Mr. Mahendra Suryavanshi and told him to expect a parcel that I had sent.

ANAND, a special friend with Down’s syndrome, is a quiet boy with a good sense of what is fair and unfair. One day, at my weekly meeting with Friends, he complained about Friend Chaitanya who did not allow him to take solar water first. “I am very angry today because I thought it was unfair,”

I spent the last six weeks working as a volunteer at Navkshitij. Because the volunteer room was not available, I stayed under one roof with the special friends during my visit. Besides some minor challenges that arose because of that constellation, it wasn’t a problem for me at all. Looking back, I think that I

INTERACTING with our Friends is very interesting. Often we gain great insights. One day, during lunchtime, one of the girls said, “Madam, my father gets angry very often and then my daddy and mom start fighting. But Madam, I just ignore it.” And she started laughing. I said, “Good.” Then another girl came and began

OPPORTUNITIES come knocking at unexpected times. A big one did, last month, bringing with it a huge challenge. We got a huge chocolate order from Vansum Industries, Pune. Taking the order was a bit of a challenge. Our head of the chocolate unit, Anuradha, our Workshop Manager and some Friends from the chocolate unit were

I visited Navkshitij in early 2019, after a gap of many years. There was a sea change everywhere. The campus had been developed so much. I was struck by the eco-friendly activities, especially making products from Nirmalaya from temples. Workshop coordinator Mr. Eknath showed us around patiently. He explained how natural powder is made from