TIN calipers and tired, yet happy, 10-year-old Hussein Dudhawala is ecstatic about his first trek  near Karnala Bird Sanctuary in Matheran. A student of the School for Remedial Education (SRE), Haji Ali, Dudhawala, a spastic, is overwhelmed by the experience. “I want to go back,” he says. The hike that has put him on a high was courtesy Maitree, an organisation comprising employees and family members of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS). 57 students of the school, out of which six students were physically challenged, braved the trek with 10 members of Maitree some time back.
 
“Our students have learning disabilities, but have good potential to cope with academics,” says Rameeza Khan, principal SRE. The school is run by the Society for Rehabilitation of Crippled Children. Set up in 1986, it has 62 students from Class I to Class XII. “This is the first time that our students have undertaken trekking. I was very happy when Maitree proposed it to us. Our students surprised us. They did not even look tired after the trip.” Another student, Shrushti Hana could not contain her joy. “I have told my parents that I want to go back again,” she says.

Mala Ramadorai, founder member of TCS Maitree and wife of S Ramadorai, CEO, TCS, says they plan to make trekking a regular activity. “This is the first time that we have undertaken trekking for the Remedial School. We wanted our members to know the difficulties faced by children who are challenged. The experience was an eye opener.” 

Maitree was formed on February 23, 2002. The idea behind it was to instill a feeling of pride in the achievements of TCS, not only among the employees but also among their spouses and children. With the company growing 10-fold in the last few years and its workforce scattered around the globe, Ms Ramadorai says the need to build a sense of extended family was keenly felt, especially among the wives of the employees. 

They achieve this by inducting wives and children of TCS employees into the extended TCS family, facilitating communication among them and helping them integrate into their communities locally, wherever they may be globally. As families relocate, they gather useful information that could make it an enriching experience for the families that follow. Thus, knowledge-sharing becomes vital. This led to the idea of launching a website where relevant information becomes readily available. 

Says Ms Ramadorai, “Through a number of activities, Maitree comes to know that each one’s strength and unique capabilities can be encouraged and channelled for the benefit of each individual. We bring together the wives to form self-help groups. By organising a number of quasi-professional and cultural-enhancement sessions for their associates and families, Maitree engages them in community development activities.” 

Maitree conducts regular sessions on yoga, theatre workshops, origami, flower arrangement, chocolate making, etc. The activities conducted by Maitree are carried out at all its offices in the country. Besides, some of its members teach English in a school for tribal children at Panvel. “We would like to take the students of the Victoria School for the Blind, Tardeo, and Our Lady’s Orphanage, Parel, too, on a trek,” adds Ms Ramadorai.