Seva Sada: Empowering orphans through education; Mira and Dhanraj Kadam take up inspiring mission

Harpalsingh Sethi

Hingoli, Jan 12: Moved by the plight of orphan students, especially from families of sugarcane workers and poor farmers, a Hingoli Zilla Parishad teacher Mira Kadam along with her husband Dhanraj Kadam has been running an orphanage at Hingoli for years through crowdfunding and contributing from her own salary.

Despite being differently abled due to polio, Mira, posted at a school in Antulenagar in Hingoli, manages to run the orphanage, named Seva Sadan Boys Hostel, through Sath Foundation, Tandulja. She also devotedly does her job of teaching. As many as 70 students in various age categories stay at Seva Sadan and all their expenses including money spent on education are borne by the couple through crowdfunding.

Mira started her noble work in the year 2002 while she was posted at Nagasingi village school in Sengaon tehsil by adopting five boys. She bore all their education expenses. With desire to work for children from poor farmer families against the backdrop of increased farmer suicides, she started visiting villages to spread awareness among rural people about educating children. Talking to LT, Mira said, “Me and my husband both had lost our father early and know the struggle orphaned children have to go through. They have no option but to work to sustain themselves, which causes their education to take a backseat. With the aim of ensuring these children receive an education and stand on their own feet, we established Seva Sadan.”

The Kadams started their orphanage in 2019 and initially took care of 40 children. She said Covid era was a huge challenge for them and they survived by spending their savings. Although the couple has applied for government aid, due to various category norms they do not get State funding. She said the boys from Seva Sadan are now working in various fields like banking, engineering, medicine, chartered accountancy and doing well. The couple is planning to soon start a hostel for girls from such families.

“The building housing the hostel is rented at ₹27,000 per month. There are challenges in meeting expenses for groceries, grains, educational materials, and the costs of higher education for the children. While many generous individuals from society support this hostel, the assistance often falls short of the need,’’ Mira said and urged the support from generous individuals and institutions.