The founder of this organisation herself suffered a spinal cord injury in her childhood.
Thousands of people suffer from spinal cord injuries in India every year. Such injuries mostly occur due to accidents. With the aim of providing new life to such people, a rehabilitation centre named Soulfree INSPIRE Centre has started an initiative to offer free treatments. The centre is located in the city of Tiruvannamalai, Tamil Nadu. The founder of this organisation Preethi Srinivasan, herself suffered a spinal cord injury in her childhood. She received treatment abroad and in order to help others suffering from similar problems she established a rehabilitation centre in her hometown. According to a report by Local 18, all treatments offered at this centre are completely free of cost. Speaking about this, founder Preethi Srinivasan mentioned that she has been running this charity work for the past 11 years. “People with spinal cord injuries often get paralysed and are often confined to wheelchairs for life. The main goal of starting this centre was to give such individuals a dignified life enabling them to be physically, mentally and economically independent,” she said.
She mentioned that for the first 10 years, they donated wheelchairs and hospital beds to support the people suffering from such injuries. The organisation also helped the people financially and also held education caps to help them get employed. Without proper rehabilitation training, the organisation failed to function according to its full capacity. To solve this, the organisation started to provide training, becoming India’s first integrated rehabilitation training Centre.
The organisation now offers over 40 types of services. They also offer automated wheelchair-accessible facilities, making it easier for people with spinal cord issues. Presently, there are around 45 staff members including nurses, physiotherapists, and occupational therapists. On December 3, 2021, the Chief Minister inaugurated the rehabilitation centre on the occasion of International Day of Persons with Disabilities. Till date, the organisation has helped more than 200 patients to get back to normal life.
Preethi Srinivasan said, “There are many people who came to us in such a condition that they are even unable to move but after receiving treatment they are now able to work and support their families. Here, we offer free treatment to those below the poverty line. Everything at this place is free of cost including food and accommodation. Even family members can also stay with the patients. They are often kept here for 3 – 6 months for treatment.”
The cost of treatment, which the centre pays, is around Rs 25,000 per person. Around 30 to 40 people stay at the rehabilitation centre. The total cost of it stands around Rs 16 lakh. As per the report, most of the fundings comes from individual donations and CSR initiatives.
“We have supported more than 3000 people across Tamil Nadu. Now we are getting support from people from neighbouring states like Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Kerala and Karnataka. More people are now interested in joining this initiative. I hope more rehabilitation centres like this come up in India. The country should come together as one. I want to establish more such integrated spinal cord injury rehabilitation centres in various places,” Preethi Srinivasan further added.
She mentioned that the organisation aims to provide earning opportunities to the people who visit them for treatment. “Our ultimate goal is to stop anyone in such circumstances from committing suicide. People who have no family or anyone to take care of them, can stay here for life, work and live with dignity,” she added.
