NGO honours ‘mother’ of 32 girls

Nagpur: Kiran Jambhule, 22, lives in a ‘help-home’ run by local NGO Matra Shakti Kalyan (MSK) since last three years. She had lost her father at a very tender age. Her mother had to work in farms on daily wages whenever she got work, and there were time when Kiran went without meals when in school.
However, being a studious kid, she managed to stay on top every year.In Std X, she scored 84.46% and caught the attention of the Vishwa Hindu Parishad, which sent her to MSK. She defines it as the turning point of her life, because that was the day she met Rekha Tai Wankhede, the caretaker at MSK.
“The day I entered this hostel, Rekha maam made my day easy. Within a few days, she became so close that I stopped missing my family. I have always felt comfortable in sharing my personal problems with her. She has been a godsend for a girl like me, residing here after leaving behind an ugly past.”
The encouragement that she gets from Wankhede has helped Kiran complete her MSc. She is currently preparing for IAS exams. MSK has been taking care of 32 girls coming from a similar background.
Kiran says, “Leaving my own home to live in this help-home was a tough decision to make. But because I was focused on my career, I started my life all over again and switched to this home. Rekha maam has her home nearby, but we never see her visiting her own home, leaving us alone. She recently had eye surgery, but we still don’t see her taking rest. She is still working hard to make our lives easy.”
The affection shown by Rekha Wankhede towards the girls has allowed her to build a relationship with them, and help them prosper.
Wankhede’s dedication to her social work was rewarded by BJP leader Subramaniam Swamy in the form of the ‘Sanvedana Gaurav Puraskar’ on the occasion of Swatantryaveer Savarkar’s anniversary, which is being celebrated through the week. The award ceremony was organized by local NGO Sanvedana at Shikshak Sahakari Bank Hall, Mahal.
Speaking of Savarkar and Hinduism, Swamy said, “Veer Savarkar deserves to be conferred the Bharat Ratna. I am also going to pressurize the central government to include Ramayana and Mahabharata in school history syllabus.”
He also declared confidently that the party was close to completing the legal process related to Ram Mandir. “We are hoping to begin construction from 2016 onwards,” he said.
Taking about the ‘Ghar Wapasi’ issue, he said, “The persons who were converted to Muslim and Christian religion are adopting back the Hindu religion. This will continue on a large scale.”
(Reporting by Shakti Singh)