About us

About Pragati Kendra

Pragati Kendra is an NGO established to rehabilitate Mentally Challenged Children and to enable them to lead an independent life. Founded in 1978, Pragati Kendra has been through many ups and downs over the years. Our members and staff have been working tirelessly over 40 years and have been instrumental in helping many mentally challenged children adapt to mainstream society. Pragati Kendra has two main departments – Meera Vidyalaya for students with an IQ between 30 & 70, and a special training center for students above the age of 18.

Early Days of Pragati Kendra

“Meera Vidyalaya” started operating on 23rd April 1978 under the umbrella of “Pragati Kendra”, with a foresight of helping mentally challenged children in the future. The school initially started at Dadar Bhagini Samaj and continued to be there for around one and a half year. Later, it was moved to a garage in Hindu colony. In the year 1980 Meera Vidyalaya got a new address. Municipal Officer Mr. Choughule and the ex-mayor Mr. Divakar Rawate extended their kind cooperation and allotted six rooms on rent and Meera Vidyalaya started working in a Marathi Primary School on Telang Road at Matunga, Mumbai – 19.

In the year 2015 Pragati Kendra had to face a big blow. The school building at Matunga was demolished for redevelopment and since then the school is operating in two different premises, one being Murlidhar Mandir at Sion and the other at KC Matunga School. This has caused a lot of inconvenience and we are trying very hard to acquire better and larger spaces preferably in Dadar, Matunga or Sion for operating the school under one roof. With your help and our care, we shall certainly pass this hurdle and achieve greater success in the near future.

Our FOUNDER - Smt. Shakuntala Athalye

To fulfil Meera’s dream who was a “special child” Smt. Shakuntala Athalye started “Meera Vidyalaya” on 23rd April 1978 under the umbrella of “Pragati Kendra”, with a foresight of helping many more such children in the future. Founder member Late. Shakuntala Tai was even active at age 90. Her concern for the rehabilitation of these special children is to be felt to believe. She introduced the three interactive schemes namely Maitra, Subhiksha and Muskaan in order to make our children self-reliant and independent in our society. Shakuntala Athalye planted a seedling which has now turned into a huge tree.

Our Board of Trustees

Smt. Shubhada Godbole

Smt. Shubhada Godbole was inspired by her nephew who was mentally challenged and decided to get herself trained in this subject. After completing her Diploma in Mental Retardation, she joined Pragati Kendra in 1979. Smt. Shubhada was the first principal of Meera Vidyalaya. She later took on the responsibility of Secretary till 2000 and is currently working as the President of Pragati Kendra organization. Her expertise allowed her to contribute immensely towards the holistic development of these children and their parents by organizing various seminars all over city and country. Having worked in this field for a long time, Smt. Shubhada published a book- ‘Matimand ani Mi Shubhada- Mi Yashada’ which documents her experiences and dedication in this field.

Smt. Vijaya Khare

Smt. Vijaya Khare is a degree holder and a trained teacher and a neighbour of Smt. Athalye (founder of our organization). The frequent contacts with Shakutai made Smt. Khare totally inspired with a dream to work in the field of Mental Retardation. Inspired by Shakutai's dedication, Smt. Khare started to work in this field with five special children from the vicinity where a small school was established in 1978, which was named Pragati Kendra. Smt. Vijaya Khare has been taking care of all the financial accounts of our organization since its inception by serving as a Treasurer for long years. Vijaya Tai is physically and emotionally attached to our organization as one of the Trustee now.

Smt. Savita Gokhale

Smt. Savita Gokhale holds a Commerce degree. She helped blind college students by actually reading books and recording the books on audio cassettes, so that students can listen to them anytime they want. She also arranged writers to write their answer papers in examination for almost 20 years. She joined Pragati Kendra in 1998 as a member then became a committee member. She worked as Treasurer from 2007 to 2019 and helped to improve financial status of Pragati Kendra to a great extent by bringing in a major part of donations. Savita Tai became the Vice President in 2019 and now she is working as one of the Trustees and is frequently found encouraging our students.

Late Smt. Anuradha Ganpule

Smt. Anuradha Ganpule held a Bachelor’s in Arts degree and also a Diploma in Mental Retardation. After completing this special training, in 1987 she got a job as a special teacher (educator) in Gambhirchand Umeshchand Shah Meera Vidyalaya run by Pragati Kendra organization. After working in this position for thirteen years, she worked as a principal for the next 8 years. She served as a Trustee and President of Pragati Kendra for many years. Her contribution to Pragati Kendra is beyond measure and she will always be in our mind, heart and prayers.

Our Committee Members

SMT. UMA MUNJE

(VICE PRESIDENT AND MEMBER) Having completed her graduation from Nagpur University, Mrs Uma Jayant Munje did her post-graduation in social work from Nirmala Niketan, Mumbai, specialising in medical and psychiatric social work. She had been working with the visually impaired for 4 to 5 years. She joined Pragati Kendra in the year 1995, starting as a member of the committee and then went on to becoming the Joint Secretary, a post which she served for almost 7 years. Later, she was acting as the Secretary for the organisation, a responsibility which she has been taking care of for the past 10 years. Presently, Uma Tai is working as a Vice President of our organization.

SHRI. RAJEEV ATHALYE

(TREASURER) Shri Rajeev Vinayak Athalye, after retiring from Steel Authority of India Limited (SAIL) in 2012 got actively involved in social activities. He joined Karhade Brahman Sangh, a social activity trust in 2013. He is associated with Meera Vidyalaya and Pragati Kendra since its inception as the school was initially started by his mother Mrs. Shakuntala Athalye. For the past many years Shri. Athalye has been watching the development and progress of the students and now he is actively involved in all the activities of the organization. At present he holds the position of the Treasurer of the Managing Committee of Pragati Kendra since 2019.

DR SUJATA PATADE

(SECRETARY AND MEMBER) Smt. Sujata is a professional Ayurvedic consultant running a clinic at Parel for the past 30 years. She was the Secretary at Bombay Association of Medical Sciences Graduate Association Mumbai region 2008 to 2010. She was also an Elected Council Member of Ayurveda Prasarak Mandal since 2012. Dr. Sujata joined Pragati Kendra as a medical officer and have been visiting the school twice a week to take regular check-ups of the children. Also have organised medical camps for children, parents and teachers alongside Medical Counselling. Since 2011, she is working in the capacity of Joint- Secretary and have participated in all the activities of our organisation. Presently, Dr. Sujata is working in the position of Secretary of our organization.

SMT. PRITA MISTRY

(JOINT SECRETARY AND MEMBER) Smt. Prita Santosh Mistry, holds a Commerce degree. She was initially associated with the school and used to look after students and management skills. She was an active participant in extra - curricular activities of students. She has been associated with Pragati Kendra as a member for the past 8 years. She also looks after Udyogkendra and its maintenance. Presently, Smt. Prita is also working as Joint Secretary of our organisation.

SMT. SNEHA MAHESH MAYEKAR

(MEMBER) Smt, Sneha, completed her degree in Bachelor of Arts and Diploma in Mental Retardation, society for care, treatment, and training of special children in need of special care), later joined Pragati Kendra in 1988 as a special educator in Meera Vidyalaya and worked for the progress and development of these special children. She was promoted as the Principal of the school in 2008. She continued to work and managed all responsibilities of the principal and also arranged seminars, camps, trips, and lectures on useful subjects for students, teachers, and parents which encouraged them to learn, participate and gain more knowledge. She retired from the post of Principal after a service of 32 years in Meera Vidyalaya. She is currently a committee member of Pragati Kendra and encourages students by her dedicated work.

DR. VIDYA RAO

(MEMBER) Smt. Vidya is a professional consulting Ayurvedic physician for 30 years and also running her cosmetology clinic for 8 years in Jogeshwari, Mumbai. She has also conducted Yoga classes for 5 years. Dr. Rao is an elected committee member of Mulund Vidya Mandir school and was working as honorary consultant at Gayatri Ayurvedic Sanshodhan Kendra. Dr. Rao joined Pragati Kendra in 2013 as a member and has been working as committee member for more than 5 years and is participating in all the activities of our organisation.

SHRI. BHARAT JOSHI

(MEMBER) Shri. Bharat Joshi, ‘Sarpa Mitra’ is the director at ‘Sarpa Darshan of India’. He has received various Government and State level awards from the Chief Minister and Governor of India for organizing special snake awareness campaigns, seminars about educational – social work and overall development of specially Physically Challenged students at Matheran and Mahabaleshwar, Maharashtra. Shri Bharat Joshi has been a member of Pragati Kendra since 1997. He has conducted training programs for children and also held the position of President for a period of 2011-13 in our organization. Joshi Sir, is encouraging our children with their work as a Committee Member.

SMT. VAIDEHI GADRE

(MEMBER) Smt. Vaidehi Gadre has been working as a Clinical Psychologist in Pragati Kendra’s Meera Vidyalaya from 1995 to 2015 and presently is a member of the Managing Committee. She has been deeply involved in the evaluation of the aptitude and I.Q of these special children, to find out which skills can be taught to them, bringing awareness to the teachers and parents regarding the behavioural problems of these children along with organizing home visits and counselling. This work, even though very challenging, brings her great satisfaction. She does not look at it as a job at all and would like to continue her association with this institute for many more years to come.

MS. REWA MUKUND GODBOLE

(MEMBER) Having completed her Post Graduation in Counselling Psychology, Rewa Mukund Godbole worked as an Assistant Counsellor in a school at Sion, Mumbai for two years and started her own venture called 'COUNSELLOR REWA' through which she assists students with their behavioural, emotional and other mental health issues using various counselling therapies. Rewa's grandmother, Smt. Shubhada Godbole is one of the founder members and running trustees of Pragati Kendra. From childhood, Rewa was interested in the activities of the children in the organization. Her interest grew with her age. With the desire to help these Special Children, Rewa has now joined the Managing Committee of Pragati Kendra and she is an active member since 2019.

SHRI. MILIND BAKRE

(MEMBER) Shri Milind Bakre was working in a Co-operative Bank for 38 years. In all these years he has gained a lot of experience in retail banking and other areas of administration. He was introduced to Pragati Kendra by Shri Rajeev Athalye and was very much impressed with the noble work that the organization was doing for the welfare of these special children with the desire to do some good work in this field. He joined Pragati Kendra in the year 2019 as a member of the working committee.

SMT. UMA SURESH PATANKAR

(MEMBER) Smt. Uma comes from a commerce background and she is a neighbour of Smt. Shubhada Godbole (founder trustee of our organization) who introduced her to Pragati Kendra. Uma Tai has been an active member of our organization for the past 25 years and actively participates in various school programs, activities like Annual days or Festive programs. With this zest for work, Smt. Uma would continue working and encouraging our children as a committee member.

Contact Us

Phone no.: 022-24015106 (school), 022-24073262 (office)

Mobile no.: Mrs. Anuradha Ganpule – 9833531420, Dr. Sujata patade – 9869100722, Mrs. Tanishka Phanasgaonkar – 7506305419

Email: pragtikendra@gmail.com

Office Hours: Mon to Sat, 10:00 am to 05:00 pm

Office Address: Pragati Kendra, C/o. 202, Murlidhar mandir Trust, Near Union Bank, Dr. Ambedkar road, Sion, Mumbai-400022.

School Address: G. U. Shah Meera Vidyalaya, C/o. K.C. Matunga Municipal School, Mahilashram Path, Matunga, Mumbai – 400019.