Savali, which provides care to mentally challenged children, wins national recognition for empowerment of persons with disability.
Savali (shelter) is a hope for parents of mentally challenged children and those with cerebral palsy. One of the premier institutes providing life-long care for special children, it is an answer to the worries of parents about the future of their wards after them.
It was among the six institutes from all over the country which was honoured with the National Award for Empowerment of Persons with Disability under the institution category.
Founder Vasant Thakar understood the need being a parent of multiple disabled. He and his wife, therefore, gave up their jobs to dedicate themselves for the cause. Thus came up Savali in 1992. It not only provides care, rehabilitation and education to the
disabled but also trains people in this service.
Catering to the needs of 125 children, Savali has 42 children for life-time care with them. They are coming up with another project in Sutarwadi to expand their work. This project will accommodate over 50 people and will also have an advanced vocational training centre to assist the disabled become self-reliant.
“There is a desperate need for doing more for the rehabilitation and life-long care of these people and therefore we focus on training people and awareness. Vaidehi, Thakar’s daughter, was the inspiration for Savali. We were among the first few institutes in the country to start a centre for life-long care of the disabled. We have people up to 67 years of age with us at present,” said the director of the institute, Gauri Kulkarni.
The institute’s premise in Kothrud is designed with the need of disabled in view. “The corridors, stairs, toilets, everything is accessible to them. There is a lack of sensitivity in society at large about it. The buildings, offices, education institutes are not accessible to them many times,” says Kulkarni, adding that the institute has been honoured with state and national awards earlier.
“We at Savali only concentrate on work. Awards are a part of the process of development and encouragement to work more. We are now focusing on expanding our services,” she added.
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