Three childhoold friends — Mounika Sharma, Amita Royale and Lavanya Lata — have quit their plum jobs in India and abroad in pursuit of a common goal — serving the poor.
Today, they run an old age home with 10 women in Jagat Jivan Nagar near Thatichetlapalem and a home for about 80 children.
“Since our adolescence we have been trying to do something for the poor, especially old women who have been discarded by their family members,” said Mounika, qualified metallurgist from Andhra University College of Engineering, who rejected an assignment in the US.
Initially, while in college, they started off by collecting funds and ration from family, friends and relatives and approaching orphanages and old-age homes.
“But, soon wee realised that much of the donations do not reach the needy and we launched the Wisemen Foundation in 2006,” she said. To begin with, the trio adopted about five old women in Vambay Colony near Madhurawada. “Today, we have a home with 10 such women and about 15 in the Vambay Colony,” said Amita, research scholar in microbiology .
“Later, during mid-2008, we realised that the children in the slums are neglected. Many of them are drug addicts and are illiterate. They have the zeal to study but due to financial conditions and lack of proper guidance they become wayward,” said Lavanya, who has done her PG in English and Mathematics.
Then, they started a home for the children and today there are about 80 children in it. “About 28 of them stay at the home and remaining come for tuition, food, clothing and other basic needs. We even counsel the addicts and some of the children are very bright,” said Mounika.
For the children the trio are ‘akkas’ (sisters) and when asked whether they would like to go home they say a big ‘No’.
Mounika told The Hindu , that most of the children were admitted to government schools and bright ones among them were being sent to private schools.
Coming to funding they run on a shoe-string budget, as most of the expenditure is taken care of by the trio from the research grant and job that they do in the morning time and part comes from donation.
