ABOUT FOUNDER

Born in Parbhani district of Marathwada, Ashok Deshmane grew up in abject poverty and hunger. Ashok and his family endured years of uncertainty and hardship, as did the other families of the drought ravaged farming community. But, that did not dampen his spirit. He got himself an education, a job, changed the course of his life!

Today, he harbours an undying desire to help others in need.

EARLY LIFE

He had to work throughout his college life as his parents were unable to provide for college fees. He used to work in a garage, sleep in Lorries to earn money for his education. He still remembers how the drivers from Andhra Pradesh shared their meals with him!

Determined to make a difference, Ashok set out to get an education and after years of hard work he graduated with a Masters in Computer Science. This earned him a well-paying IT job in Pune!

IGNITED MIND

From a young age, Ashok had channeled his thoughts into poetry, often focused on the issues faced by farmers due to drought. He was still affected by news of the worsening conditions at his home town. The constant news and updates from the drought in his village and the increasing number of suicides among farmers worried him.

He went to his hometown, only to see the children abandoned on the streets, starving, and unaware of the happenings in the world. He soon realized that poetry alone could not solve the problems that his community faced.

2014-2015 was a rough time for drought affected families, and this was directly affecting their children’s education. “When there is no food to put in the stomach, what’s the point of putting anything in the brain?” – was their attitude!

Ashok had to do something about it! He started teaching local kids over the weekends, but unfortunately their families had to move to a different town. He was heartbroken and decided that he would create a home for these children; for their all-round development.

THE BEGINNING

With this spirit, he started an NGO, Snehwan, in December 2015. As a part of it, he decided to educate children belonging to families of the farmers that committed suicide. Initially, he had 18 kids from 4 districts in Maharashtra. His parents joined to support him all the way from Parbhani. His father taught Tabla to the kids, and his mother cooked meals for all of them.

THE JOURNEY

According to Ashok’s vision, if we want the next generation of farmers to do something substantial in the near future, it is necessary to educate them. And just basic education is not enough. Teaching them various subjects like computer science, yoga, music, dance, painting, etc. is needed. Children must be taught according to their talents.

He felt if he had the will, he would find the way. He continued to work towards setting up Snehwan along with night shifts at the job for 9 months.

Ashok began by donating a part of his salary to charity, but realized that this too wasn’t enough. He made the decision to dedicate his time and effort to help the children in his community. He quit his high paying IT job and devoted whole time to educate the children.

Ashok got married at the age of 25 in November 2016, and his wife Archana at the age of 21 was more than happy to know about his cause and contribute to it. She cooks meals regularly for the one large family they have and is like a mother to them. They live as one big happy family along with around 25 young boys in a 4 room’s home. They also started to provide the education and development programs for 27 girls from nearest slum area.

HELPING HANDS

Ashok and Archana were looking to increase the size of their family by bringing in more and more children to their little haven near Pune. But they wanted to expand and were looking for an affordable land nearby. Having seen the same poverty as these children, he wanted them to learn more and most of all, become better human beings.

In 2018, Dr. Smita Kulkarni and Dr. Ravindra Kulkarni donated two acres of land to Snehwan. Late Nalini Kulkarni Dnyangram project was started on this land. There was only one aim – caring and educating needy farmers’ children with an emphasis on their holistic development. Snehwan program that was run at Bhosari since 2015, shifted to a new location in Koyali.

THE ROADMAP TO FUTURE

Ashok has no plans to slow down as he expands his efforts to other areas such as Agriculture. He is worried about the decline in interest in agrarian jobs and believes that if this trend continues India, we may soon have to import food grains from China. He is laser-focused on building a school for agriculture, since most of the children are from farming backgrounds.

Today, Ashok and his wife Archana are working in Snehwan to heal the scars of the trauma of losing loved ones and the physical effects of extreme poverty. Alongside, attempts to get them into mainstream society are on-going. However, we propose to help these children realize their full potential and dreams by supporting higher education and providing professional training. But that is for the future. Today is for healing, caring, educating and nurturing.

ABOUT FOUNDER

Born in the Parbhani district of Marathwada, Ashok Deshmane grew up in abject poverty and hunger. Ashok and his family endured years of uncertainty and hardship, as did the other families of the drought-ravaged farming community. But that did not dampen his spirit. He got himself an education and a job, which changed the course of his life!

Today, he harbors an undying desire to help others in need.

IGNITED MIND

From a young age, Ashok channeled his thoughts into poetry, often focusing on the issues faced by farmers due to drought. He was still affected by news of the worsening conditions in his hometown. The constant news and updates from the drought in his village and the increasing number of suicides among farmers worried him.

He went to his hometown, only to see the children abandoned on the streets, starving, and unaware of the happenings in the world. He soon realized that poetry alone could not solve the problems that his community faced.

2014–2015 was a rough time for drought-affected families, and this was directly impacting their children’s education. “When there is no food to put in the stomach, what’s the point of putting anything in the brain?” was their attitude!

Ashok had to do something about it! He started teaching local kids over the weekends, but unfortunately, their families had to move to a different town. He was heartbroken and decided that he would create a home for these children for their all-round development.

THE JOURNEY

According to Ashok’s vision, if we want the next generation of farmers to do something substantial in the near future, it is necessary to educate them. And just basic education is not enough. Teaching them various subjects like computer science, yoga, music, dance, painting, etc. is needed. Children must be taught according to their talents.

He felt if he had the will, he would find the way. He continued to work towards setting up Snehwan, along with night shifts on the job, for 9 months.

Ashok began by donating a part of his salary to charity, but realized that this too wasn’t enough. He made the decision to dedicate his time and effort to helping the children in his community. He quit his high-paying IT job and devoted his whole time to educating the children.

Ashok got married at the age of 25 in November 2016, and his wife, Archana, at the age of 21, was more than happy to know about his cause and contribute to it. She cooks meals regularly for the one large family they have and is like a mother to them. They live as one big happy family, along with around 25 young boys, in a four-room home. They also started to provide education and development programs for 27 girls from the nearest slum area.

THE ROADMAP TO FUTURE

Ashok has no plans to slow down as he expands his efforts to other areas, such as agriculture. He is worried about the decline in interest in agrarian jobs and believes that if this trend continues in India, we may soon have to import food grains from China. He is laser-focused on building a school for agriculture, since most of the children are from farming backgrounds.

Today, Ashok and his wife Archana are working in Snehwan to heal the scars of the trauma of losing loved ones and the physical effects of extreme poverty. Alongside, attempts to get them into mainstream society are ongoing. However, we propose to help these children realize their full potential and dreams by supporting higher education and providing professional training. But that is for the future. Today is for healing, caring, educating, and nurturing.