In 1981, Meena Rana, hailing from Kudana village in Shamli, married Baghpat’s Virender Rana. The farmer couple could not have children of their own. Today, Meena (50) and Virender (55) are proud parents of 51 children. They run an orphanage in Shukrtaal, Uttar Pradesh.
A decade into their marriage, Meena was diagnosed with an uterus tumour, due to which she was unable to bear children. When the couple moved to Shukrtaal in 1990, they adopted a one-year-old abandoned boy and named him Mangeram. However, the child died when he was five years old. But the desire to provide a home to more such abandoned children remained. So they together build a home and nearly three decades later, they have 51 kids.
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The couple have also has built a small school on the orphanage premises. They are proud to see the once deprived children growing up.
"I do not care whether they are Hindus or Muslims. All I know is that they are my children. Our main focus is the education of these children," said Meena while speaking to the Times of India,
Currently, at the shelter, 46 children are living a decent life. Of them, 19 are girls and 27 boys. Many of them are specially-abled children
"The Shukrtaal gram panchayat provided us with a bigger plot of land. For supplies and other essentials, we mostly depend on donations. Our neighbours provide us with wheat and other basic food items," said Virender.
"I do not know what my future would have been had they not taken me into their care. I owe them my life," said Mamta, a 22-year-old raised by the couple. Mamta is currently pursuing post graduation at a district college and also volunteering at the orphanage.
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"Not many can do what Meena and Virender have been doing. Giving them the land was the least we could do to help them," said Shukrtaal pradhan Susheel Sharma.
What Meena and Virender are providing to the children is noble and frankly very rare to find these days. Hats off to you, two!
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Feature Image Credit: TOI
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