Bapuji Children’s and Old Age Home

THE WISDOM OF AGE, THE ENERGY OF YOUTH

When Dr. Anandi Bai Prasad ran a maternity home in Mysore in the 1970’s, she was distressed to see the number of new mothers who abandoned their babies in the nursing home. Her compassion led her to look after the infants, mostly girls, and in 1975 she founded the Bapuji Children’s Home on the premises of the Prasad Medical Center as a voluntary non-government Trust. Starting with eight girls, this residential home now shelters about 50 abandoned children.

In 1995, two years after Dr. Prasad’s death, her legacy continued with the opening of an Old Age Home for men and women alongside the Children’s Home. The resident ladies, who had been alone and destitute, now interact with the children while going about their own work and daily activities. The elderly ladies benefit from the energy and enthusiasm of the young girls, and the children enjoy a semblance of family life with their surrogate grandmothers. It is a mutually shared benefit that makes perfect sense.

The Bapuji program was founded upon and is guided today by the ideals and philosophy of Mahatma Gandhi. A loving home and a caring education prepare the abandoned children to earn a living and become productive citizens. While in residence, they attend local schools. Infants are available for adoption by stable families, and foster homes are found for many children age 4-10, which can lead to formal adoption.

Several generations of girls have grown to adulthood with the help of the Home’s dedicated caregivers, who continue to follow-up even after adoption. So far the Home has celebrated eight marriages and a number of former child residents now have healthy children of their own.

There are many remarkable success stories, and the Home has big plans to expand the number of lives that it can change for the better. Land has already been donated for a much larger Old Age Home to house up to 200 women, and a Shelter for Street Girls is also being planned. All that is needed now is money. The Trust has been granted 80-G Tax Exemption and receives Government grants, but these cover only about 30% of the trust’s expenses, so private donations are essential to keep Dr. Prasad’s dream going forward.