Earlier this week I spent some time at an extra-ordinary place in the city of Pune, India which is about 100 miles from Bombay ( Mumbai).

It is called Ghar which in Hindi means house or home.

It is a seven floor building in an area surrounded by various Indian Army facilities and it serves three purposes which enforce each other

An Orphanage: It provides shelter, food, education and love for 40 orphan girls.

A place for Disabled Women: 9 partially paralyzed women are provided housing and rehab.

An elder age home: 19 retired people are provided a place to live.

This way three generations live in one home with the orphans surrounded not just by teachers and administrators but a true family. They have “grand parents” and provide help and comfort to the disabled women who would be their mothers age while the elderly have ready made “grand children” and the voice and commotion of the young.

I spent some time with Colonel Mickie Uberoi who along with a few other retired officers of the Indian Army pooled their resources and raised funds to create this amazing space. The six minute video below is very much worth a watch:

A Culture of Excellence and a Growth Mindset.

The Army Officers wanted to ejsure that the orphans were raised in a culture of excellence.

They just did not want the orphans to have a place to live but a way to boost them for their entire life with a combination of education, mentoring, getting used to a good quality of living and exposure to the very best experiences available in Pune.

Each one of the girls are told that their goal should be to have an impact on society and find ways to help others.

It begins with early education in the orphanage imparted by great teachers and then placement in the best schools including army schools that the match the ability of each girl. Each girl is encouraged and supported to be world class. When they return from school further tuition is provided in the evenings to ensure the girls do not fall behind.

Tennis table training and basketball and other sports are also made available and the girls are often invited by surrounding institutions to see parades, shows and as many activities to expand their horizons.

The quest for excellence can be seen in the space which while filled with the sound of laughter and learning is intensely clean with a gym, a meditation room, a garden and a rooftop terrace.

To ensure a sense of self and not subservience but respect they are asked to refer to their elders as aunty or uncle but not “sir” or “madam”.

Freedom within a Framework.

When we saw the youngest girls we first thought they were boys (see above) but were corrected.

The administrators have discovered that some of the girls with long hair had issues with lice so everyone has a short haircut till they get a little older. This way no one feels different but they can also look at the older girls with longer hair and know the hair they have lost is coming back.

When they are in the orphanage they all have a uniform of jeans and long sleeve shirts but each girl also gets to select their own wardrobe for special events and for when they leave the facilities to go to events or outings.

Each girl decides what she would like to study and what sport she would like to play and then they are provided with a disciplined course to achieve their goals.

It is a wonderful way to have a process and rules for everybody but then many things are personalized for each person.

A Canvas for Generosity.

Ghar has become a canvas for people in Pune to paint with their generosity.

The joy that comes from giving and helping others is enabled by the scaffolding of volunteer opportunities that it provides.

Services: Doctors and Dentists are not just available on call for the residents of Ghar but many have fixed hours where they come in every week or month and staff the medical rooms.

Materials: The picture above shows a small section of the indoor but airy playground. Different individuals give and maintain their gifts whether it be bicycles, slides or basketballs.

Experiences: Tickets to events or invitations to things like parades or fireworks are provided for some or all of the inhabitants to they are exposed to a wide range of experiences ( and get to wear their going out clothes).

The fact that every one can help in their own limited way from spending an hour providing free medical care or funding a basketball ensures that limited time or resources should not stand in the way of people who might want to help.

Future Forward Thinking

The retired Army trustees believe that the orphans they are housing today will be the ones to keep Ghar running after they have aged out or passed away.

The belief is that as the girls graduate and go out into the world this place will still be their home since it where they grew up. It will not just be their roots where they will re-connect with others they grew up with but the hope is that they will fund, run and maintain it for the next generation of orphans.

Everyone is reminded that this is not a home they are staying in but it is their home that they have to keep going because helping a single person makes a big difference.

Or as the Ghar slogan reminds us:

“Helping one person may not change the whole world, but it can change one person’s whole world”

Rishad Tobaccowala is an author, speaker, advisor and Chairman of The Tobaccowala Foundation.