123 in home for disabled kept safe from Covid with ‘Wazzar model’
Nagpur: Shankar Baba Papalkar’s ‘Balgruha’ in Wazzar village of Amravati district is a known place for philanthropists and social workers across Central India, for taking care of 123 children – mentally and physically challenged, blind and multi-disabled persons, and orphans, all abandoned by their families. Papalkar has managed to keep all the children under his care free of Covid, even as the virus is playing havoc all around them in Amravati district.
Octogenarian Shankar Baba lives with the challenged residents in a 25-acre campus in the heart of the Amravati district, the place where the second wave of Covid-19 is believed to have originated in early February. Despite nearly three months of strict restrictions, the virus is still playing havoc in the district, with more than 83,000 cases and 1,250 deaths.
Instances have been reported in this district where 70% population of villages tested positive at a go. In such a scenario, Shankar Baba and his 123 special children have managed to stay uninfected and healthy for almost 14 months since the pandemic outbreak in March 2020.
“The day the first lockdown was announced, I closed all three entry points of this estate. No outsider is allowed to enter. Teams of government doctors who visit this place for general health check-ups of inmates have to undergo strict sanitization before they enter,” Shankar Baba explains.
According to him, the secret that has protected these inmates from the deadly virus is forestation done by them over the last 30 years. “We started living here in the 1990s. My children have planted more than 15,000 trees of 200 varieties, and lovingly nurtured them. More than 5,000 of the trees are of neem (Indian lilac). They are protecting us from viruses,” he said.
The inmates eat tender leaves of neem daily in the morning while they burn some dry leaves in the evening and spread their smoke all around the house. Shankar Baba claims this remedy is enough to keep Covid away. “Why just Covid? No one of them experienced fever, diarrhea, or accidental fall during this one year. Keeping away from visitors and the neem therapy made them healthier, and more confident than ever,” he said.
As per present laws, mentally and physically disabled persons have to leave the orphanage or school once they turn 18. “Some disabled and mentally challenged people need assistance and security for a lifetime. We have developed an ideal model for it. The older residents help youngsters here. Normal inmates cook food for all, serve them, feed those who need feeding, and also clean those who need it,” he said.
The institution gets food grains from Amravati’s Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal (HVPM) and Shegaon’s Sant Gajanan Maharaj Temple Trust. District administration of Amravati, district civil surgeon Dr Shyamsundar Nikam and district collector Shailesh Naval are always helpful for all medical assistance to the inmates.
“I have a message for the government of India. Stop deforestation immediately. Ban timber mills for the next 5 years. Let nature heal itself. There will be no virus, no shortage of oxygen ever,” Shankar Baba said.
BOX
SHANKAR BABA’S MANTRA TO STAY COVID-FREE
Physically and mentally challenged inmates have developed a forest of 15,000 trees
More than 5,000 of these are neem trees (Indian lilac), all full-grown up to 10ft high
Inmates eat tender leaves of neem tree every morning
They burn dry neem leaves and spread smoke around premises every evening
No outsider is allowed to enter the premises, even doctors need sanitization
Senior inmates cook food for all; juniors water trees; all wash hands frequently
Octogenarian Shankar Baba lives with the challenged residents in a 25-acre campus in the heart of the Amravati district, the place where the second wave of Covid-19 is believed to have originated in early February. Despite nearly three months of strict restrictions, the virus is still playing havoc in the district, with more than 83,000 cases and 1,250 deaths.
Instances have been reported in this district where 70% population of villages tested positive at a go. In such a scenario, Shankar Baba and his 123 special children have managed to stay uninfected and healthy for almost 14 months since the pandemic outbreak in March 2020.
They stay together and take care of each other, which is the ideal model of this home for mentally challenged, disabled, and orphans, named after Padmashri Prabhakarrao Vaidya, an educationist from Vidarbha. “Girls sleep together in a 20x70 ft dormitory, and boys in a smaller 20x30 ft hall. They don’t wear masks but wash hands multiple times a day. Physical distancing is not possible here because many of them need assistance to complete their daily chores,” said Shankar Baba.
“The day the first lockdown was announced, I closed all three entry points of this estate. No outsider is allowed to enter. Teams of government doctors who visit this place for general health check-ups of inmates have to undergo strict sanitization before they enter,” Shankar Baba explains.
According to him, the secret that has protected these inmates from the deadly virus is forestation done by them over the last 30 years. “We started living here in the 1990s. My children have planted more than 15,000 trees of 200 varieties, and lovingly nurtured them. More than 5,000 of the trees are of neem (Indian lilac). They are protecting us from viruses,” he said.
The inmates eat tender leaves of neem daily in the morning while they burn some dry leaves in the evening and spread their smoke all around the house. Shankar Baba claims this remedy is enough to keep Covid away. “Why just Covid? No one of them experienced fever, diarrhea, or accidental fall during this one year. Keeping away from visitors and the neem therapy made them healthier, and more confident than ever,” he said.
As per present laws, mentally and physically disabled persons have to leave the orphanage or school once they turn 18. “Some disabled and mentally challenged people need assistance and security for a lifetime. We have developed an ideal model for it. The older residents help youngsters here. Normal inmates cook food for all, serve them, feed those who need feeding, and also clean those who need it,” he said.
The institution gets food grains from Amravati’s Hanuman Vyayam Prasarak Mandal (HVPM) and Shegaon’s Sant Gajanan Maharaj Temple Trust. District administration of Amravati, district civil surgeon Dr Shyamsundar Nikam and district collector Shailesh Naval are always helpful for all medical assistance to the inmates.
“I have a message for the government of India. Stop deforestation immediately. Ban timber mills for the next 5 years. Let nature heal itself. There will be no virus, no shortage of oxygen ever,” Shankar Baba said.
BOX
SHANKAR BABA’S MANTRA TO STAY COVID-FREE
Physically and mentally challenged inmates have developed a forest of 15,000 trees
More than 5,000 of these are neem trees (Indian lilac), all full-grown up to 10ft high
Inmates eat tender leaves of neem tree every morning
They burn dry neem leaves and spread smoke around premises every evening
No outsider is allowed to enter the premises, even doctors need sanitization
Senior inmates cook food for all; juniors water trees; all wash hands frequently
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