A ‘Mother of Orphans’ or ‘Maai’ to those she cared and provided for, Sindhutai Sapkal was a woman with a heart of gold and a figurative pair of angel wings, for she took care of and nurtured those who did not have families.
Coming from a difficult background and having struggled with testing times, Sindhutai had to endure for her family so she could make ends meet. I can say with conviction that she was a strong and resilient woman, a symbol of hope for anyone dealing with hardships. She had faced a lot of adversities and could have chosen to yield to negativity but instead, she devoted all that pent up energy towards making a positive change by helping orphans in society. In a perpetual struggle to survive, she found herself in Chikhaldara in Amravati, a district in Maharashtra, where 84 tribal villages had been evacuated to clear space for a tiger preservation project. She fought for the rehabilitation of the villagers and amidst all these issues she discerned the anguish and difficulties young orphans and abandoned children would face. This made her want to do something for them. She had adopted and nurtured over 1500 orphans irrespective of their age. She provided them with basic amenities such as food, shelter and the affection of a loving mother. Sindhutai ran many orphanages and NGOs across Maharashtra. Her profound social work and philanthropy were recognized and she was the recipient of numerous awards, she received the prestigious Mother Teresa Award for Social Justice and was also honoured with the Padma Shri Award in 2021.
On 4th January 2022, Sindhutai Sapkal breathed her last breath and her loss was mourned by many people, both eminent and common. Her legacy is to be remembered as a beacon of hope and love for all those suffering and her many children will continue the saga of caring for abandoned children that she had begun. We all must think of her as an inspiration when fortune doesn’t favour us and when we go through hardships. Although it is easier to give in to the dark and negative half of things, striving harder and then reaping the rewards of the positive and good work for others is a feeling that does not measure up to any other.
A Ray of Hope- Sindhutai Sapkal
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