Disabled orphans find a fresh lease of life at Umang

Umang WorldChildren Welfare Trust India runs a residential care facility for youth with cerebral palsy and other disabilities outside Mumbai. The idea of such a centre came about as few families are willing to adopt disabled children who are orphans.

“These youth have no family and now Umang is their family”, says Nazneen Engineer, assistant to the founder and trustee of Umang, Sulochana Kalro. “They call the staff members aai, taai or bhaiyya and the staff too is very fond of them.”

The home run by Umang offers a secure nurturing environment where the residents’ physical and emotional needs are met with. The aim is to build their self-esteem and enable them to live as included members of society, leading productive lives.

Umang is located on an agricultural property where various activities like farming, gardening and making handicrafts take place. The residents here get specialized training from professionals to develop skills that suit their individual capabilities.

“We want them to be self-reliant and self-sufficient”, says Engineer. “We are doing everything we can to make them feel like inclusive members of society who are working and earning their living just like all of us. Of course they need some help but who doesn’t? They are so funny and thoughtful and kind and sensitive to other’s feelings. It is sad that society does not see them for who they are, but as a product of their disability.”