Founded by an orphan. Built from Hardship. Sustained by service.
Mahatma Gandhi School was born from the heart of a man who once had no home, no classroom, and no promise of tomorrow. Orphaned at birth and raised in the slums by elderly labourers who earned a living breaking stones, Shri Vinayak Ganpat Deokar experienced hardship in its rawest form. He struggled through poverty, failed his 10th-grade board exams, waited tables to survive, and was later diagnosed with a severe heart condition. And yet, what could have ended his story became the beginning of a much greater one.
A chance encounter with a mother unable to afford treatment for her child, who suffered the same heart disease as him, shifted something deeply within Vinayak. That moment — a meeting of pain and shared helplessness — marked the beginning of his life's true mission: to rise above his suffering and serve others like him.
In 2002, he founded Jeevan Mitra Pratishthan Charitable Trust, initially to support patients battling cardiac, renal and cancer-related illnesses. But service, once sparked, only grows. By 2014, he went further, building a school for those most abandoned by the system: orphans, children of prisoners, children of sex workers, single mothers, domestic workers, and families crushed under intergenerational poverty.
Thus, Mahatma Gandhi School was born. Not in comfort, but in conviction.
Today, the school provides free English-medium education to over 650 children. But that's only the beginning. Every child receives books, bags, uniforms, stationery and winter sweaters; hygiene kits; festival celebrations, outings, and quarterly clothing of their choice; free daily mid-day meals; and transport to and from school.
Milestones of the Heart
Jeevan Mitra Pratishthan is inaugurated by Late Shri Balasaheb Bharde and Dr. K.B. Grant — a charitable trust to support patients with serious medical conditions.
Mahatma Gandhi School is inaugurated by Dr. Vikas Amte — free English-medium education for children most abandoned by the system.
Destitute's Palace is born — a residential shelter home for orphans and victims of abuse, offering dignity, structure, and love.
Rooted in Gandhian Ideals
Every part of Mahatma Gandhi School breathes the values of Bapu himself: Truth. Simplicity. Service. Non-violence. Self-reliance. And education that uplifts the soul, not just fills the mind.
We are not a school built on profits. We are a school built on belief — that every child, no matter where they come from, deserves the tools to rewrite their story.