Home for Hope

Snehawan in Pune is home to children of farmers who have died by suicide. Within its gates, they find a place to nurture their dreams

- Haima Deshpande

CHILDREN of all age groups are scattered around the two-acre complex with the T-shirts and blue sweatpants, they look like sunflowers blooming in that walled space. Some are playing, while some others sit under trees with their books and pencils jotting on their notebooks. The complex with its multicoloured buildings is Snehawan, home to 60 children, all bound by their sad tales of personal loss-a parent who has died by suicide. They are all children of farmers from different parts of Maharashtra, from impoverished families, whose parents, predominantly fathers, chose suicide rather than see another debt-ridden day.

Snehawan, with its white and blue painted buildings-some with low roofing, three-storied, under construction and some built with large shipping containers-is a place that teaches children from the poorest of families that they too can have dreams.

Thirty-two-year-old Ashok Deshmane, an IT professional who gave up his job to look after these children spent his childhood and teenage years in abject poverty. He convinced the next of kin to send the children to Snehawan, located 200 km away from Mumbai in Chakan in Khed taluka of Pune district.

Convincing the surviving parent, often a farmer's widow whose relatives have a major say in the future of the children in households hit by suicide, is a challenging task. "When every child is a farm hand, the families are not too keen on educating them. They are poor and their biggest challenge is to get the next meal," says Deshmane, whose work with these children has been applauded by many.