Sambhaji Mandke

Qualifications/Work Experience: Sambhaji has an Masters in Social Work from Bharati Vidyapeeth in Kothrud, Pune. He joined Shelter Associates in 1998.
My dream as a child was: I did not have a specific aim. I have done field work since childhood, and decided I wanted to do social work after the 10th standard.
What I love most about Shelter Associates is…building toilets for individual families. Since working for Shelter, I have studied the slums, and realized the lack of toilets. It is my hope for all slums to be free of open defecation.

My most challenging moment at Shelter was…working on the passing of the Sangli Detailed Project Report (DPR). It can be very challenging to work with the municipal corporation.
My most rewarding moment in community service work has been…building individual toilets in the Sangalwadi slum of Sangli in 2005. It is rewarding to see how eager the community families are about receiving their own toilets.
My best friend is…Shashi (a fellow Shelter core member), Dev (a social worker in Mumbai), and my wife.