WE had set up an ideal, ID-centric residential rehabilitation centre. The IDs, our staff and their children stayed together like an extended family. The news was spreading; we had withstood the challenges for seven years. We were on an even keel. Parents who visited our centre at Marunji saw this as an ideal place to ensure the future of their child. Admissions started pouring in. Our Marunji unit was filled to capacity. This was in 2014.
The CSR blessing
Until this time, the fees we collected from the parents of the IDs would cover only 70% of the actual expenditure. We had gathered enough individual donors to cover the deficit. Suddenly, we found companies asking us how they could help us. We were thrilled to get an unexpected windfall of money. We decided to expand our reach. In 2016, we bought three acres of land in Asawali near Shirwal in Satara District. The never-say-die attitude of Neelima was the driving power. The financial dimension had just broken the glass ceiling. We learnt later that the Government of India had passed the CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) law—that was the reason for the windfall.
Expanding our boundaries
We built a temporary shed in Asawali to accommodate nine more IDs. The model remained the same. The staff and their children stayed with our special friends. It had taken us seven years to venture beyond the closed walls of Marunji. The years 2020 and 2021 were a nightmare. Hit by the Corona pandemic, the world came to a grinding halt; yet the centre had to continue functioning. We couldn’t just send all our friends and the staff home. This was to put our concept of an ideal rehabilitation centre to the test.
The Corona concerns
Ninety people were staying at Marunji—IDs, staff and their children. Those who were in the premises had to stay inside while those outside supported them with organising and co-ordinating supply of groceries, vegetables, milk and toiletries. Vendors would leave the material at the gate. It was collected by our staff inside the premises. They wore gloves and masks and used sanitisers. Our special friends were blissfully unaware of the chaos outside. Our staff ensured that the activities inside the premises continued as if nothing had happened. The only restriction was that no one could go out. Our special friends did not seem to mind it. We had everyone tested and vaccinated not once but twice.
Our staff held fort for seven months and then the bug entered the centre. Twenty-four IDs and staff tested positive. We were forced to send the other IDs home. Some of them didn’t have a home to go to but our staff did not bat an eyelid; they just continued to look after them. The problem was not simple. The IDs who tested positive had to be isolated, but they could not live by themselves. Our staff members, kudos to them, accompanied our friends to the isolation centre even though they had not tested positive. This was a time when children disowned parents who tested positive, but our staff did not; they braved the odds and stayed on. That is the sort of bonding that was created. After a month, the world came back to the new normal. Our special friends returned to the centre; we had not lost anyone to the pandemic. Life went on as usual. We didn’t know it then but our problems had just started.
The hurricane
Shortly after the horrifying experience of Corona, we were hit by the Nisarga hurricane. Sixteen big trees were uprooted. A whole shed collapsed. Tin sheets of the roof were blown off. Luckily, our staff had herded all our special friends to a safe place and no one was hurt. Parents and well-wishers rushed to our rescue. Within a month we had rebuilt everything. The place was looking even smarter. This was a confirmation for us that the bonding and loyalty that had been created in our Marunji community over seven years could withstand any storm. Our special friends were safe. The parents could not stop praising the staff for their commitment and compassion towards our children. Our model of an ideal rehabilitation centre had withstood the test of time.
The brutal blow
The year 2020 ended with a hint of dark clouds on the horizon. Our strongest pillar, our founder Neelima, was struck by an incurable disease known as CJD. Navkshitij was plunged into chaos. Over the next few months, her health deteriorated relentlessly. Finally, we lost her on December 28, 2021; may her soul rest in peace. I became the ‘Accidental Prime Minister’. I had a lot to learn. I must confess that it was very tempting to take my daughter home and shut down the whole place. Our trustees stood by my side firmly at that time. Together, we decided to roll up our sleeves and make the dream of our founder, Neelima, come true.
Rising again
The project at Asawali was overwhelming. By then Mrs. Smita Shetty had joined us, first as a PRO and then as a trustee. Finally, a year ago, she took up the reins as our first managing trustee. The dimension changed once more.
Smita Shetty is an MBA who has been teaching BBA and MBA students for more than 20 years. She is also a Lean Six Sigma Black belt. Navkshitij, especially I, was lucky to have her by our side. This was the time Bajaj Finserv headed by Shefali Bajaj and Ajay Sathe took Navkshitij under their wings. With their full support, we too sprouted wings.
Our masks first
The instructions in a flight before takeoff tell us that in case of turbulence, an oxygen mask will drop from overhead. “Please wear your mask first before you assist others,” the instructions will further say. We had put on our masks; Aditi had been living at Navkshitij for 15 years. She was happy just the way we, as parents, had visualised for her. Now it was time for us to help other parents who were wondering who after us. We had to help others put on their mask and we had the right people with us.
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