OUR FOUNDER.
Hella Mundhra was born in 1939 at Hameln, Germany. Growing up during the war years and deeply shocked and disturbed by the cruelties in her own country under the Hitler regime, she developed a feeling of guilt for being part of the people, who had brought such unimaginable suffering to the world. Under the influence of some of her high school teachers, strong, highly cultured, well-read women, who were committed to humanism and pacifism, Hella decided in her teens that in her own life she would struggle to abolish discrimination of any person on whatever basis and deepen respect and understanding among peoples. She read the works of author Stefan Zweig and followed his life and works closely and aligned to pacifist ideas, choosing unity over divide and acceptance over intolerance.
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Her years in post-war Germany were marked by modest living to the point of miserliness. Her parents worked
Hella Mundhra was honoured by the Federal Republic of Germany for decades of selfless service.
extremely hard and could provide whatever was needed, but they believed in being self-sufficient, and Hella followed in their footsteps.
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Hella´s introduction to India came, when she was a student, and she was intrigued by the writings of Vinoba Bhave. She went on to marry a young Indian doctor named Dwarka Das Mundhra. Although Hella had planned for a career as a teacher, meeting Dwarka Das changed everything. When she knew that they would marry and live in India, she agreed to pursue medicine. Both were young, idealistic and yearned to be of service in a country, where it was sorely needed. Germany would have offered a comfortable, even luxurious life, but the young couple opted for a life of service instead.
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In the 70s Hella and her family put down their roots in Bangalore. Here, they set up the Ashok Nursing Home offering medical services to all people, irrespective of whether they could pay or not. Soon, Hella also began health camps in nearby slum areas. What she saw disturbed her deeply. Unable to change the situation as a whole, she chose to concentrate on the children, who were born into these circumstances and whose lives seemed to spell hopelessness even before their birth. Critically sick children were admitted to the Nursing Home to be nursed back to life in many months of intensive treatment. In this process her original vision emerged again, which was to engage with children and to shape their minds towards a better world. Thus was born Shishu Mandir, as a home for children.
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Soon there were 16 children being looked after by Hella and her helpers. When they reached school-going age, they were admitted to private schools in the neighbourhood. Unhappy at the quality of education that even private schools offered, Hella started an experimental school of her own. Today the Shishu Mandir School has grown in size, has beautiful buildings and a team of committed staff members.
In 1995, Hella returned to Germany. In the preceding years her marriage had ended and with most of her fundraising happening in Germany, she decided to shift there. She received support from Carolin, a young doctor and an early volunteer, who had been a part of Shishu Mandir from its inception. Together they set up the Shishu Mandir Society in Germany to formalise the fundraising efforts.
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Hella´s vision for Shishu continues to guide the path for the organisation. She insists that the children´s inner growth remains the primary focus of the organisation. All activities and initiatives must ensure that the children receive comprehensive support from the Home and School. Hella´s dream is of a Shishu Family, where children can learn and grow without fear and insecurities. Equally important are qualities of honesty, self-respect, responsibility and integrity. These are the foundations on which Shishu Mandir was built.
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Hella is closely involved in every aspect, from the functioning of the Home to the teaching methodologies at the school and to every single village initiative. Over the years, she has worked closely with Anand C, the Director of the organisation, whose aims and aspirations blended with Hella’s ideas. The Executive Committee of the Shishu Mandir Society further brings together diverse professionals, each contributing to the workings of the organisation.