The
creation of “Sristi”
Growing
up in an orphanage for disabled and non disabled children for over fifteen
summers, Karthikeyan G. learnt one important principle of life- All humans are
equal. He grew up sharing all moments of
togetherness, joy and responsibility with his big family at the orphanage. Growing up he had to reconcile with the harsh
truth that the world outside was not as adaptive or co-operative to the
intellectually and physically disabled as was his home. Overcoming all odds he
went on to successfully complete his academic education and became a
psychologist. One would easily assume
that this was the pivotal achievement in the life of a child growing up in an
orphanage. Well, Kartikeyan or Sristi Karthik as he is now often called, was
not the one who would sit idle for he had a great mission on his hands.
He
had realized that there was a stubborn wall of discrimination in the society
that separated the so called ‘normal’ individuals from those with special
needs. His siblings from the orphanage had to face excessive hurdles in their
attempts towards leading a self-reliant life of dignity. And so he returned and he decided to do
something about it. He set up the Sristi foundation to enable and empower the
disabled individuals to stand firmly in the society.
The
Sristi foundation has three wings: The Sristi Village, Sristi Special School
and Sristi Vocational Training Centre. In 2013 The Sristi Foundation generated
funds from friends, supporters and volunteers to purchase 8.39 acres of
cultivable land just outside Kunamangalam Village. The Members of Sristi
village participate actively in the various agricultural projects that have
stemmed up and adhere to the traditional South Indian as well as the modern
organic farming practices. The Sristi special school aims at providing holistic
education to the children with special needs and the aim of the vocational
training centre is to empower the disabled to lead a holistic life with self-respect.
The
main purpose of the Sristi is to provide an opportunity for intellectually
disabled persons and equip them with some basic skills so that they can be in a
position to generate their own income or at least become partially independent. The residents of Sristi Village live in a hut
made of bamboo and mud. A solar water pump provides water to this 100% eco
friendly village. Corn and millets are
the main crops growing at the moment and new projects such as mushroom farming
and an apiary are in the pipeline for want of funds. You will be happy to note
that the first step towards setting up of a dairy at Sristi village was made when
generous donors donated a cow Nisha and her beautiful daughter Lakshmi! This was
really exciting news at Sristi as the produced milk (after feeding Lakshmi of
course), would further the foundation’s aims of attaining self-sufficiency.
At
32, the young hero and founding director of Sristi Village has got just the
right blend of energy and experience to materialize his altruistic dream. His
work has already begun to get recognized nationally and internationally. For
those who may be interested to know or support this wonderful project, Do visit
the place! I am sure you will see Karthik welcoming you with a brilliant smile wider than the skies:
SRISTI
FOUNDATION
Pondy-Mailam Road, Thazhuthali Village Tindivanam T.k.,
Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu – 604 304,India
E-mail: sristivillage@gmail.com
Pondy-Mailam Road, Thazhuthali Village Tindivanam T.k.,
Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu – 604 304,India
E-mail: sristivillage@gmail.com
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