Hemant’s deep faith and concern for the harsh circumstances of children in Orissa gave birth to his dream of starting an orphanage. A small, two-room house was built in the rural village of Salguda, close to a school and a health care facility. In 1995, fourteen vulnerable children came to live in the house.
Eventually the orphanage moved to its present 7–acre site in G. Udayagiri and housed up to 85 children.
The population swelled to 135 in 2009 following two waves of persecution by radical Hindus.
