In Maharashtra’s Amravati district, a once-barren stretch of land has been transformed into a place of shelter, dignity and belonging. At the centre of this transformation is Shankarbaba Pundlikrao Papalkar, a social worker who has spent decades caring for orphaned, destitute and Divyang children at Wazzar, near Paratwada.
Papalkar runs the Late Ambadaspant Vaidya Matimand Mukbadhir Bewaris Balgruh, an institution dedicated to the lifelong rehabilitation of children who have been abandoned or left without family support. As of 2024, the institution was home to 123 children.
But Papalkar’s work goes beyond providing food and shelter. For children who grew up without a family identity, he became a father figure, while his name was recorded as their father’s name on their Aadhaar cards, giving them an official identity and a sense of belonging.
Building A Family, Not Just An Institution
Papalkar’s approach is rooted in the belief that rehabilitation should not end with providing basic necessities. The children are encouraged to participate in education, daily responsibilities and community life, helping them develop confidence and independence.
This philosophy came to be known as the Vazzar Model. The model focuses on self-help, mutual support and creating an environment where Divyang children can live with dignity rather than being treated merely as recipients of charity. The official Padma Awards citation describes it as a model of self-help and identity in which the children support one another and work towards leading respectable lives.
The institution has also worked towards helping residents build lives beyond childhood. Papalkar has supported marriages for several residents and helped former residents enter government employment. According to the official Padma Awards citation, 21 daughters and three sons from the institution had been married, while 12 children who grew up there had secured government jobs.
For Papalkar, rehabilitation is therefore not simply about keeping someone safe. It is about creating the conditions for a person to participate in society with identity, responsibility and self-respect.
From Barren Land To 15,000 Trees
One of the most striking aspects of Papalkar’s work is the transformation of the institution’s surroundings.
The ashram was established on barren land in 1990. Over the years, Papalkar and the residents helped turn the area into a green landscape containing around 15,000 trees. The trees are cared for by the children and residents themselves, making environmental responsibility part of everyday life at the institution.
Earlier reports described the campus as a striking green patch amid the dry landscape around Paratwada, with hundreds of varieties of trees. Residents participate in watering and caring for the trees, turning the once-barren surroundings into a living example of collective responsibility.
The trees are more than an environmental achievement. They reflect the philosophy behind Papalkar’s work: people who were once seen as dependent can also become caregivers, contributors and custodians of their own surroundings.
A Life Built Around Dignity
Papalkar has also advocated for the rights of orphaned and Divyang people after they turn 18. His efforts have included calls for stronger legal provisions and continued rehabilitation for those who cannot independently navigate life after leaving child-care institutions.
At Wazzar, however, his response has been practical as well as advocacy-driven. Instead of allowing residents to become isolated from society, the institution seeks to create a community where people can continue to live, work, learn and support one another.
That approach has earned recognition beyond Maharashtra. Papalkar was awarded the Padma Shri in 2024 for Social Work, with President Droupadi Murmu conferring the honour during the Civil Investiture Ceremony on May 9, 2024.
The official citation recognised his work in raising and rehabilitating Divyang children, facilitating their integration into society and developing the Vazzar Model. It also highlighted the transformation of the barren campus into a green space with about 15,000 trees.
From A Modest Beginning To A Community Of Hope
Papalkar’s journey began in 1990, when he established the institution on 25 acres of land at Wazzar. What began with four disabled girls gradually grew into a community that, by 2024, housed 123 children.
Over the years, the institution became more than a shelter. It evolved into a space where residents could develop skills, take responsibility for their surroundings, form relationships and prepare for greater independence.
The transformation is visible not only in the lives of the children but also across the land itself. A once-barren campus now stands as a green environment cared for by the very people the institution was created to support.
Papalkar’s recognition with the Padma Shri brought national attention to this decades-long work. Yet his contribution is perhaps best understood through the everyday realities of the community he built — children receiving an identity, residents finding employment and marriages, and generations of trees growing under their care.
The Logical Indian’s Perspective
Shankarbaba Papalkar’s story shows that rehabilitation can mean much more than providing shelter. It can mean identity, dignity, responsibility, independence and belonging.
At Wazzar, children who began life without family support have found a community in which they can learn, work and contribute. The 15,000 trees surrounding them offer another powerful reflection of that philosophy: with care and patience, something once considered barren can become full of life.
Papalkar’s decades-long journey reminds us that social change becomes meaningful when people are not merely cared for, but are given the opportunity to care for themselves, one another and the world around them.
How can India build more lifelong rehabilitation models that give orphaned and Divyang adults not just shelter, but identity, dignity and the opportunity to live independently?
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