IMAGINE being a mother to over 1400 children, having 282 sons-in-law, 49
daughters-in-law and hundreds of grandchildren. Sindhutai Sapkal is
known as the 'Mother of Orphans’ in her town of Pune, Maharashtra and is
the matriarch of this large family. The 68-year-old has transformed the
lives of over 1400 orphans by giving them a home, support and love that
they deserve. With the help of her daughter Mamata and the first child
she adopted, Deepak, Sindhuta runs four orphanages - two for girls and
two for boys. She works closely with all of them and is constantly
supported by her large family, which is still growing.