Desik

I always feel very euphoric when I meet Mani Sir. My association with Mani Sir and his SOCARE IND started about one and a half years back.

It all started when I was looking out for an orphanage to celebrate a birthday. At that time, my sis-in-law mentioned a place where her friend's kid had celebrated her birthday. I had expected Desik ( Mani Sir's house in Rajajinagar) to be like any other orphanage. But it turned out to be very different.
SOCARE Ind (Society’s Care for Indigent)is a home for mainly the children of convicts
who have been deprived of basic necessities. SOCARE Ind provides food, shelter and education to the kids. SOCARE Ind was started by a retired bank employee, Mr. Mani and his wife Mrs. Saroja Mani in June 1999. Mr. Mani hails from lower mid class family working for a national bank. But that did not stop him from the desire to lend a helping hand to the children in desperate need of help. In fact, he runs this orphanage in his house itself.

In Mani Sir's words- “While cycling to work everyday I used to cross the Bangalore Central Jail. I often saw children crying outside the jail watching haplessly their elder locked inside the prison. I used to wonder about the future of these young lives. With no empathy and support from the society what kind of life will they be able to lead. Hence, the first thing I did after my retirement was open a long term shelter for these unfortunate children. Since I did not have any money and my children were settled in the US,I contributed my house for the cause,” says Mr Mani. (This excerpt has been taken from an inetview of Mani Sir to Deccan Herald.
http://www.deccanherald.com/deccanherald/jan042005/spt1.asp)

Every time I go to Desik, Mani Sir tells me about the background of the kids staying there. Believe me, those kids have seen more of life than us. There are kids whose both the parents are in prison. There is a kid whose mother was killed by the father itself and now the father is in the prison. Such are the stories of those kids at Desik.

I got to know that this organization is in need of funds. Mani Sir tries to give the best of education to these kids. He also ensures that they lead a normal life. So they are in need of financial help. Of course, few of us contribute regularly there. But more help would be welcome.

Every time I visit Desik, those innocent eyes haunt me. It hurts to think that those kids are actually struggling for their basic needs. But at least they have Mani Sir with them. What about those who are still on streets and who have taken felonious paths to earn their food??!!

For those of you who want to know more about this organization:
http://www.socare.org/
http://socare.blogspot.com/2005/11/socare-primer.html