Kid's Cerebral Palsy Led Me To Work Around Disability: Shraddha Soparkar

What keeps Shraddha Malpani Soparkar going strong in life is her daughter Shruti. Soparkar is the founder of Madhuram Charitable Trust which works on bringing affordable, high-rated quality prosthetic legs from Germany and donates them to beneficiaries free of cost. Soparkar's journey towards social entrepreneurship, however, began with personal inspiration.

She found an innate purpose in the sector after her own kid was born with a disability. Not just artificial limbs, her work also covers working around children with speaking or hearing disabilities. Today, she is gearing up to start a cost-free Aqua therapy centre in Gujarat, making aqua therapy accessible to hundreds of children with disabilities.

Shraddha Malpani Soparkar opened up about her calling in the social sector, challenges in sensitising society about disability, and providing prosthetic legs to those in need.

How challenging is it to be a special mother? 

It is not challenging to be a special kid’s mother because the special child will love you unconditionally. It becomes a challenge when you get into a denial phase. Being a mother, one doesn’t need to hear words or see gestures to understand the child. I can understand what she wants by just looking into her eyes and seeing her facial expressions. This is a great quality all mothers are blessed with.

My life has been full of discipline. A working woman and mother always need to have that balance, and more so with a special child.

What inspired you to venture into the social sector?

It was the birth of my daughter Shruti, who was subsequently diagnosed with cerebral palsy, that was the turning point in my life. I had to take her to doctors for various therapies. She was very young and it was a very bitter reality for me to accept as a parent. However, I realised that the situation is even more challenging for families that have financial issues. Meeting the needs of special children is beyond the reach of most families.

I had several experiences where I saw families struggling to make ends meet, even finding it challenging to have two proper meals a day, because of the expenses involved in getting therapy for their special children. I initially helped a few people, but over time I realised that many more people need help. The idea of founding an NGO took shape so that I could help more people, and this is how the Trust was born in 2019. I consider it my privilege to have been able to help special children and other specially-abled persons with our initiatives.

What unique requirements do you look for in prosthetic legs as compared to others?

The prosthetic legs we provide to beneficiaries are made in Germany, costing between one lakh to three lakh rupees. They are made by Ottobock, a leader in orthopaedic technology. The legs are lightweight and come with a silicon liner, making them comfortable to wear. The prosthetics have a hydraulic knee joint, which eases movement, and its foot thrust makes it easy to walk. I do not want to compare with the other NGOs, many of whom are also doing excellent work in helping in the rehabilitation of specially-abled persons, but our focus and commitment are to give the very best to the beneficiaries and help them lead a good life.

What hurdles or challenges have you faced while working as an NGO trustee?

For any project or any dream, the first challenge is thinking that the dream is too big. When I started Madhuram, people were telling me 1 lakh for one prosthetic leg is a lot and mocked me. They said prosthetic legs are available for 10,000 rupees. I reasoned that if my child is disabled, will I get the 10,000 rupees leg? No. I will go to Germany and get the best one for myself because I can afford it. But, unfortunately, when it comes to giving, we always give sub-standard and cheap stuff.

People around you try to pull you down. So, the biggest challenge is to believe in yourself. For any project in the world, the biggest challenge is finance. It always boils down to money. Selling a good product is difficult, but getting money out of people’s pockets when they get nothing in return is even more difficult. Today, we have assisted 900 children and I have only three employees. The biggest challenge is to raise your finances, manage your money, and till you are sure of money, don’t do any project.

The second is that as a system is growing and expanding, it's very difficult to maintain transparency and honesty. so hiring the right people and maintaining checks on finances is another challenge.

What are the criteria for the selection of the beneficiaries?

I wish I can help every single person who approaches us but it is not possible, at least at present. We have a system of prioritising beneficiaries. Youngsters are our first priority since they have a long life ahead of them and many also have families to support. Our next priority is young children since assisting them at a young age can help them study and pursue their dreams. Older people or senior citizens are next on our priority list. It is a hard choice but we have to make it. That said, we look into every individual case and decide who is the most needy or deserving and help them accordingly.

Please mention a few ongoing projects. 

Our flagship project is Stepathon, where we provide prosthetic legs to the specially-abled. We have helped more than 900 people so far. We also support a range of therapies and surgeries for specially-abled children.

Suggested reading: Geeta Poduval Found Purpose In Giving Differently-Abled Artists A Platform