Deepankar Patil has dedicated his life to helping the elderly in Pune who don’t have caregivers.
In 2018, the 31-year-old graphic designer quit his job to establish the Art of Helping Foundation, an NGO.
A tough childhood where meals were hard to come by, Deepankar chose a life of service, with the motto being to prevent others from going through similar hardships.
He lost his father at two, making his mother the sole breadwinner. “My mother raised me and my elder sister all on her own. We often went to bed hungry and famished,” he shared in an interview with the Milaap Foundation.
Ever since he started earning, he has used a portion of his earnings to deliver food to senior citizens.
Later, he decided to give up his career and dedicate all his time to serving others.
‘Art of Helping Foundation’ provides meals and support to hundreds of senior citizens living alone in Pune. They provide daily meals to 70 elderly people.
The team of volunteers not only deliver nutritious meals but also takes care of household chores, provides groceries, blankets, and medicines.
They treat all these senior citizens as their own grandparents. Besides providing food, they support them emotionally and spend quality time with them, which is the most important need.
“When I was very sick once, a dadi told me that a person who feeds hundreds needs to be alive for as long as he can,” he says.