Providing Umeed to those in need of help
Aarti Kini finds out about a charity trust, comprising college students, born during July 26 Mumbai floods……..Aarti Kini
Aarti Kini finds out about a charity trust, comprising college students, born during July 26 Mumbai floods……..Aarti Kini
On July 26, 2005 – the day of the monstrous Mumbai flood, a bunch of college students stuck in Tejaswini Jagtap’s house in Bandra were moved when they saw the plight of flood victims on television and decided to go out and help. This is how the charity trust called Umeed – ek koshish was born under the chairmanship of Jagtap.
This trust has students from colleges including R D National, MMK and many others from the suburbs.
“My daughter and her friends got stranded in rains that day and then they came home quite late. When the kids and I were watching television news, we realised that there are many who need help so we started by helping small children stuck in various places to get home. It is then that we got an idea of forming an organisation where children from well-to-do families can pool in and contribute for the betterment of the condition of the underprivileged children,” explained Jagtap of how the charity organisation was established.
Sejal Shrotri, member of Umeed – ek koshish, remembering the Mumbai flood, said, “July 26, 2005 saw unstoppable tears of millions victimised by the heavy floods in Mumbai. Even today, that day is remembered as a nightmare by the Mumbaikars. Though the floods are over, the devastation still remains in our hearts.”
Sejal emphasised, “We college students feel the need to try and cure the magnitude of this devastation that most of the city’s lower class faced. Thus, we being the youth of the city took the initiative to help the adversely affected areas of Andheri and Jogeshwari. This work inspired us to come together and work for the unfortunate children and Umeed – ek koshish was born on August 3, 2006.”
Informing more about the foundation’s functions, Jagtap said, “These kids, who are a part of the foundation are from the well-to-do families in the suburbs, whose parents can afford to give them money as funds to run the organisation. We collect this money and buy essential items including food, books, clothes, footwear for the underprivileged children.”
About the organisation’s members, Jagtap said, “The college students of our association had never seen the outside world and were not aware of the filthy conditions the stray children spend their lives in, so they contribute as much as possible.”
Referring to the membership of the college students, Jagtap said, “They become members for life and are sure to devote as much time and money as possible. The students also need to give time to their studies as many are in the last year of their degree college and some are doing their MBA. The organisation becomes more active during the vacations, mainly the summer and the Diwali vacations.”
Charity begins at home, so has the foundation itself adopted any child? “Yes,” said Jagtap, adding, “We have adopted 10 to 12 orphans out of which eight are from the suburbs. We take care of the total expenses of their education and well-being. We keep in touch with these children and keep calling them every alternate day to check if they need something.
Right now, I feel, we are working at a very low level. My dream is to build a school for all the underprivileged children; I will talk to the government to seek as many subsidies as possible.”