Inside Mangav, a unique Maharashtra village for abandoned women and their children

Published 17 June 2026 · health

Tucked away in Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar), Maharashtra’s largest district, is a self-sustainable rehabilitation commune, Mangav. The creation of two doctors, Dr Rajendra Bajirao Dhamane and

Tucked away in Ahilyanagar (formerly Ahmednagar), Maharashtra’s largest district, is a self-sustainable rehabilitation commune, Mangav. The creation of two doctors, Dr Rajendra Bajirao Dhamane and his wife Dr Sucheta Dhamane, Mangav is an extension of their NGO, Mauli Seva Pratishthan (MSP), wherein the duo offers lifelong care to mentally and physically ill homeless women and their children. “For more than two decades, my life as a doctor has taken me beyond hospital walls: to highways, railway stations, marketplaces, and forgotten corners of our cities where mentally and physically ill women wander without shelter, treatment, or dignity,” says Dr Rajendra, “Many are victims of repeated sexual violence. Some are pregnant. Most are nameless, undocumented, and invisible to systems. What began as emergency medical help gradually became a lifelong commitment.” It takes a village Today, 477 women and 43 children reside in Mangav as a community. “Most women were rescued from roads, public places, or hospital wards. Many children were born as a consequence of rape and exploitation of mentally ill women on highways. These children would otherwise have been born into homelessness and stigma,” he explains, adding that it was a conscious decision to not run Mauli (meaning mother, in Marathi) as a short-stay shelter. “In the early years, I realised that rescue alone does not solve the problem, nor does mental illness heal in a few weeks. Trauma does not disappear after shelter is provided. Many families refuse to accept these women back, and some women are so severely ill or cognitively impaired that independent living is impossible.

Which is why we provide lifelong care, treatment, and rehabilitation,” says Dr Rajendra, recipient of the THE ONE International Humanitarian Award in 2016. He stresses that Mangav is not an institution in the traditional sense, but a village model “built on rehabilitation through participation and dignity” that he grew with Dr Sucheta, who left her career as a teacher of Community Medicine in a medical college to work full-time with MSP. Here, she manages medical coordination, maternal care, children’s health, and rehabilitation programmes. Baking as psychotherapy Based on individual capacities, residents are involved in dairy and gaushala management, agriculture and fodder cultivation, tailoring and daily community services. The most recent intervention is their bakery and food processing unit where operations began a year ago. Here, 30 women who have recovered and/or are stable bake eight varieties of cookies, and whip up cakes and pastries on order. “They need to be engaged physically and mentally, and such initiatives also work as psychotherapy,” says Dr Sucheta. “We have trained them in baking for a year. We have also brought in high-grade machines and called in experts to train the women to use them,” she says. As for the offerings, she says the focus has been on creating healthier alternatives with organic produce. “We bake two varieties of nan khatai, jowar flaxseed jaggery cookies, blueberry oat cookies, ragi cookies, and more, that are stocked in local stores and we also take festive, corporate orders.” Come July, and a cafeteria — an extension of their ongoing dairy project — will launch on the Ahilyanagar-Shirdi Highway.