Shaktipreneur in Spotlight: Arathi KT (Founder, Saadhya Trust)

2.1% of the Indian population is specially-abled, and a large part comes from rural areas and smaller towns due to various factors like consanguineous weddings, socio-economic status, drug abuse, hygiene factors, injuries to the brain.

Saadhya trust provides services for all age groups of children suffering from Intellectual disabilities like Down syndrome, Autism, Cerebral Palsy, and Multiple Disabilities.

”We provide Medical Checkups, Counselling, Special Education, Physiotherapy, Occupational therapy, sensory integration, Speech & Language Therapy, Vocational Training to prepare the children for BPO, Special Olympic Sports, Mainstream Employment, and Inclusion into society,” says Aarthi K.T, Shaktipreneur in Spotlight and Founder of Saadhya Trust for Social Development.

Saadhya Trust for Social Development: The Name

Arathi is passionate about her cause. Saadhya means ”Possible” and Arathi had the conviction that it was possible to make the lives of these children better.

The journey of the entrepreneur

 Arathi was a student of MSW(Master of Social Work )with a specialization in Medical and Psychiatry at Mangalore University. She came across some intellectually challenged children and was inspired to work for them. Since the problem is prominent in rural areas, Arathi began operating her NGO from a small town to target such areas. 

 “Our initiative began with establishing a special school in Hassan in September 2016 with the initial strength of 2 students and in Hosapete (Karnataka) in October 2016 with 7 students,” she says.

Arathi faced some difficulties during the initial days when their existence was not known. Gradually, they started getting admissions, people came forward to support the cause, and there was media coverage on their work.

”Our efforts would not have borne results, had it not been for the continued support of our donors. On behalf of the trustees, beneficiaries, and staff of SAADHYA, we offer our sincere appreciation and hope for continued support so that we can impact the lives of many more,” she adds.

Both the schools are recognized by the Dept of Empowerment of Differently abled & senior Citizens, Govt of Karnataka, and aspire to provide the highest quality of special Education and Vocational Training to the differently-abled children. The whole idea is to make them self-dependent for daily living skills and provide them with functional academic education.

As in both the schools, they have children from poor socio-economic backgrounds, and there is a lack of awareness of Special Education, SAADHYA aims to bring them to the mainstream and provide them training in special education, sports, and culture, ultimately creating employment opportunities for them. Both the schools offer residential facilities with round-the-clock observation, assistance, regular medical check-ups, and treatment.

The students are also trained to make paper envelopes, candles, art pieces like paper baskets, pen stands, and garlands. During festivals, they also create candles and artefacts for gifting. These items are sold in the market, and every student gets the credit and remuneration for their creations.

Impact of the organization

Arathi started the school in Hosapete with 7 children, and now there are 157 children. The Hassan centre started with 4 children and now has 45 children.70% of the children in the schools are independent in their life skills. 3 students of Saadhya participated in the Special Olympics World summer games held in Abu Dhabi in 2019 and brought back 9 medals to the nation. They were awarded 15 Lakhs rupees in cash prize from the  Govt of India.

The team and the roles of the members

There are four independent members on the board of the trust. The Teacher-student ratio is 1:7, and the student-caretaker ratio is 10:1 in both schools. They have a headmaster, driver, security, a warden, and an accountant in each location.

Impact of covid

Covid was a difficult time for the trust.

 “We had to shut schools for 20 months in a row during covid,” she says.

The trust continued with their work by providing ration kits to 270 families, distributing approximately 2500 meals to the needy, and doing video counselling for 7500 people.

There was a crisis of funds, and they could only pay half of their salaries to the staff. They even lost a member of their faculty to covid.

Future Plans

“We want to have our school building for the capacity of 200 children in both the locations, “ Arathi says. They are also planning to establish a centre for old-age parents of persons with intellectual disabilities in both their locations.

Advice to new entrepreneurs

“Be courageous, chase your dreams, it might be tough during the initial stages, but definitely, you can achieve what you want,” is her advice to the new entrepreneurs.

Arathi the Shaktipreneur

Arathi believes that when new entrepreneurs start their business, their primary focus is on the production or services. Through incubation programs, they get insights on technology, compliance, and governance from experienced mentors. Focussing on these can take their business to another level.

Arathi became aware of Shakti from the Dhwani Foundation, was impressed by its program, and applied for it.

“Before applying for Shakti, I was not confident about expressing my needs. I did not know what a business model was and how to develop it. I learned to do things on my own after joining Shakti,” she says, proudly.

Arathi feels that STEP is a unique organization. “I liked the STEP team as they were very supportive,” she adds fondly.

She loved the mentorship program at STEP and feels that STEP matches the mentors and incubatees most effectively. Arathi is still in contact with her mentor. She loved the Tuesday session on the “Theory of Change”.

“We received a grant of Rs 1.5 lakhs from Shakti, and we used it for the training of our children,” Arathi says.

“STEP taught me to be bold and expressive. I liked the time management and accountability of the team, and that was my biggest takeaway from the program,” she adds.

Arathi, the person

Arathi’s favourite book is” You can win” by Shiv Khera. A fish-lover, her favourite holiday destinations are Sikkim and Australia. She draws inspiration from her mother.

 A quote that is the mantra of her life is- “ Do your duty, that is your beauty”.