Mr. Vinayak Lohani is the founder of a residential school for under-privileged children in West Bengal. After a B.Tech from IIT Kharagpur and a business degree from IIM Kolkata, Vinayak turned his zeal for social development into reality. Instead of jumping into a corporate career, he took the road less followed. Starting from a very small beginning 10 years ago, and supported mostly with donations from IIT and IIM alumni, he has built Parivaar into a family of over 800 children who live and study on campus. I met Mr Lohani at Rima Pande home and had a chance to listen to his extraordinary story. 

You have stated that you were driven to start this for a pursuit of excellence. Can you elaborate on this vision for this initiative?

I always thought that an institution that caters to children from impoverished backgrounds can be developed and run with the highest standards and can be a best-in-class institution. It can and should have very high benchmarks and aspirational standards in themes like child caretaking, academic and career development, broad exposure for children, excellence in sporting, and arts and culture. It can and should be a place where all children, staff, volunteers – indeed everyone – has a huge scope for continuous development in a plethora of areas.

There was never an assumption that the children deserved less or could do less because of their original circumstances. We challenge them and provide opportunities for them as with any other children.

 This endeavor over so many years need constant drive and motivation? What inspires you to keep going ?

My own sense of destiny keeps me going. Ever since I started this I have had a feeling that my life was meant to be this way. At a very deep level, it is Swami Vivekananda’s teachings that have inspired me, given me strength in times when I most needed them, and helped me overcome any negativities.   

The children and Sevavratis are also a constant source of support and motivation for me. The fact that this endeavor has been taken up by my staff with as much love and care as I have given is extremely inspirational.

 What would it take to start a parivaar in other places in India?

It would truly require the same degree of vision and holistic care we have developed with our current project. At Parivaar we are committed to each and every aspect of a child’s development, and any other Parivaar establishment would do the same. In an effort to make sure that any additional Parivaar establishment would offer the same exemplary care, we would only open another one when we were sure that kind of care could be provided by Sevavratis secure in the mission, vision and ethos of Parivaar.

What are the various ways people can help here?

Lots of ways: spreading the word, coming to volunteer for a certain period of time, remote volunteering through e-teaching, and visits of youngsters from the US to Parivaar, just to name a few. We at Parivaar know how much the support of Indians outside of India means to the continued growth and expansion of our program. We are always interested in getting more people involved and hope to continue our outreach in the United States.

Finally share with us one story of a Parivaar family success.

Santosh Das:

Before coming to Parivaar, Santosh was living on the streets in the Sealdah area of Kolkata with his mentally-disabled mother. His mother used to roam and beg to try to meet the basic needs of her son and herself. Living without shelter, even food and clothing was uncertain for Santosh, not to mention education. Santosh’s case was brought to Parivaar’s attention in March 2004. After procedural enquiries, Santosh was admitted into Parivaar Ashram (Residential Institution for Overall Development) in the first week of April 2004 for overall care.

Since he had no exposure to education whatsoever, he went through Parivaar’s rapid learning course, called Bridge. We then admitted him into formal school, Grade 4 – beginning his life of academic and overall development. Santosh's performance has continuously improved over the last nine and a half years. After Grade 12, he joined an Engineering College and is currently pursuing an engineering degree in Computer Science. In the Grade 10 Statewide Common Examinations, he scored 84 percent marks and was among the top 5^th percentile of students in the entire state of West Bengal. He took Mathematics, Physics, and Chemistry as special subjects in Grade 11 and 12. Parivaar had enrolled him in one of the best coaching institutes for Engineering Entrance in Kolkata city and, as a result, he is now in a professional educational line.

To know more go to www.parivaar.org