83) Everyday Heroes 3- Creation of Sristi - Sri Aurobindos Action Journal

The creation of “Sristi”

Growing up in an orphanage for disabled and non disabled children for over fifteen summers, Karthikeyan G. learnt one important principle of life- All humans are equal.  He grew up sharing all moments of togetherness, joy and responsibility with his big family at the orphanage.  Growing up he had to reconcile with the harsh truth that the world outside was not as adaptive or co-operative to the intellectually and physically disabled as was his home. Overcoming all odds he went on to successfully complete his academic education and became a psychologist.  One would easily assume that this was the pivotal achievement in the life of a child growing up in an orphanage. Well, Kartikeyan or Sristi Karthik as he is now often called, was not the one who would sit idle for he had a great mission on his hands.

He had realized that there was a stubborn wall of discrimination in the society that separated the so called ‘normal’ individuals from those with special needs. His siblings from the orphanage had to face excessive hurdles in their attempts towards leading a self-reliant life of dignity.  And so he returned and he decided to do something about it. He set up the Sristi foundation to enable and empower the disabled individuals to stand firmly in the society.

The Sristi foundation has three wings: The Sristi Village, Sristi Special School and Sristi Vocational Training Centre. In 2013 The Sristi Foundation generated funds from friends, supporters and volunteers to purchase 8.39 acres of cultivable land just outside Kunamangalam Village. The Members of Sristi village participate actively in the various agricultural projects that have stemmed up and adhere to the traditional South Indian as well as the modern organic farming practices. The Sristi special school aims at providing holistic education to the children with special needs and the aim of the vocational training centre is to empower the disabled to lead a holistic life with self-respect.

The main purpose of the Sristi is to provide an opportunity for intellectually disabled persons and equip them with some basic skills so that they can be in a position to generate their own income or at least become partially independent.  The residents of Sristi Village live in a hut made of bamboo and mud. A solar water pump provides water to this 100% eco friendly village.  Corn and millets are the main crops growing at the moment and new projects such as mushroom farming and an apiary are in the pipeline for want of funds. You will be happy to note that the first step towards setting up of a dairy at Sristi village was made when generous donors donated a cow Nisha and her beautiful daughter Lakshmi! This was really exciting news at Sristi as the produced milk (after feeding Lakshmi of course), would further the foundation’s aims of attaining self-sufficiency.

At 32, the young hero and founding director of Sristi Village has got just the right blend of energy and experience to materialize his altruistic dream. His work has already begun to get recognized nationally and internationally. For those who may be interested to know or support this wonderful project, Do visit the place! I am sure you will see Karthik welcoming you with a  brilliant smile wider than the skies:

SRISTI FOUNDATION
Pondy-Mailam Road, Thazhuthali Village Tindivanam T.k.,
Villupuram District, Tamil Nadu – 604 304,India
E-mail: sristivillage@gmail.com