SoulFREE

‘Soulfree’ is a public charitable trust that was established in August 2013 by Preethi and Vijayalakshmi Srinivasan. Preethi was a state-level swimmer and the captain of the Tamil Nadu under 19 Girls Cricket team. She was considered a prodigy as she found a place in the playing 11 of the State Senior Women’s Cricket Team at just the age of eight and dreamt of representing the nation. Just as her dream was about to come true at the age of 18, Preethi became paralysed below the neck due to a freak accident during which she sustained a severe spinal-cord injury.

Completely shattered, Preethi and her family struggled to come to terms with the enormity of their loss. Learning to live as a quadriplegic, Preethi found discrimination and stigma everywhere, to the extent that she was denied access to a college education because of lack of wheelchair accessibility and forced to fight for her right to education.  

When two paraplegic girls she personally knew were forced to commit suicide by their own families within a span of three months, Preethi was  inspired by her mother to “Be the Change” and establish Soulfree, a public charitable trust. The  organisation aims to improve the quality-of-life of persons living with severe disabilities causing  paralysis like spinal-cord injury, stroke, muscular dystrophy et cetera in India through the  provision of better opportunities in medical rehabilitation, education, employment,  entrepreneurship and sports. 

Our primary focus is on women and the severity of the condition. In India, the lack of government support and infrastructure combined with devastating stigma against disability result in the most severe cases being discarded completely. Our endeavour is to ensure the UN’s mandate that “nobody is left behind” is met to the greatest extent possible in the world’s most populous democracy. 

Soulfree is now working on a dream project of establishing a Spinal Cord Injury rehabilitation  centre at Thiruvannamalai. The key points about Spinal Cord Injury (SCI) and the Soulfree INSPIRE  (INtegrated SPinal REhabilitation) Centre project are:  

1. SCI can happen to anyone at any time. It has no cure and can cause permanent  paralysis below the level of injury.  

2. There are only a handful of rehabilitation centres for SCI all over India and none at all for women.  

3. Through the experience of living as a quadriplegic, I have found that an Integrated and  Holistic treatment plan soon after injury can go a long way towards regeneration and healing of  the body. There are no centres that practise holistic treatment for SCI anywhere in India.  

4. Soulfree has been working to improve the quality of life of persons with SCI for the last  seven years and are currently supporting more than 625 people who are living below the poverty  line. We have strong roots in the community. Our INSPIRE centre will give us the infrastructural  support we need to empower our beneficiaries and enable them to become as independent as  they possibly can be.  

5. Soulfree has been provided a 16,000 ft² building by the Government of Tamil Nadu on lease  at the Spiritual Centre of Thiruvannamalai (200 kms from Chennai and Bengaluru) for this purpose. It can easily be ascertained that our work has impacted lives to such an extent that the  Government has recognised it and is now supporting us.  

A budget of ₹ 2.8 Crore has been drawn up for establishment of a full-fledged rehabilitation  centre, to be completed by September 2020. At any point of time, this Centre will provide care to  50 SCI patients in full capacity.  

6. Reputed firms like CAMS, Sundaram Finance and Omega Healthcare have already come  forward to support us. An amount of ₹ 1.5 Crore has already been received through donations and  work on the project is in progress.  

Soulfree is a completely transparent organisation which provides benefits to our Contributors  under section 80 G of the Indian Income Tax Act. However, we do not have FCRA approval as yet,  so we cannot accept foreign currency donations. Besides funds we need help in a number of other  areas to get this project kicked off and implemented successfully.  

IMMEDIATE ASSISTANCE IS REQUIRED FOR THE FOLLOWING:  

 CONSTRUCTION – There is a budget of ₹ 1.6 Crore for the construction of the centre alone. More importantly, we need ground-level support in the form of project management and coordination.  

 FUNDRAISING – Taking into account the budget given above, we humbly seek assistance from companies who can invest in our project through their CSR.  

 FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT – We need help in finetuning the budget that has been drawn up,  assistance with injudicious usage of funds, monitoring, and control.  

 STAFFING – Trainers, suitably qualified nurses, administrative staff- we need them all. Any connections on how to get access to such resources, especially from within Tamil Nadu itself will greatly help. We are also looking to set up MoUs with Colleges for internships.  

 LANDSCAPING & GREENERY – For people who have been imprisoned in closed spaces for long spans of time, some internal greenery and a colorful natural environment must be created.  

 STAFF QUARTERS & CANTEEN – In the long run, we will definitely need to look at permanent living arrangements and food arrangements for our staff.  

 CAREGIVER TRAINING PROGRAM – In order to generate employment as well as aid our rehabilitation program, we must develop an internal Caregiver Training Certification  Course. This project would be vital for long-term sustainability in my view. 

If you require further information to support this project, I would be happy to provide it.  My life has seen many ups and downs, and I have crossed death twice to be where I am today.  So, I know I am an instrument of God, serving a greater purpose. My goal in life is to positively impact thousands of women and men living with permanent paralysis in India due to SCI. I most humbly invite you to join me in my Soulfree journey and enable me to fulfill my highest purpose in this lifetime. 

Contact Person: Preethi Srinivasan