Suresh Harilal Soni | |
|---|---|
 Suresh Harilal Soni with his wife Indira Soni in 2024 | |
| Born | 23 November 1944 Sinor, Baroda State, India |
| Died | 23 April 2026 (aged 81) Sahyog, Sabarkantha district, Gujarat, India |
| Other names | Sabarkanthano Sahayojak |
| Occupation |
|
| Spouse(s) | Indira Soni |
| Children | Dipak Soni, Parul |
| Honours | Padma Shri (2025) |
| Website | https://www.sahyogtrust.org.in/ |
Suresh Harilal Soni (23 November 1944 – 23 April 2026) was an Indian social worker who worked for the welfare and rehabilitation of leprosy patients and intellectually disabled people.[1] The Government of India conferred Padma Shri award in 2025 to Soni in recognition of his social works.[2][3][4]
Background[edit | edit source]
Soni completed Masters of Science with a First Class from M. S. University, Vadodara.[5] He did not want to live his life as a Maths teacher. He used to stay with the leprosy affected at Shram Mandir trust for the entire day. In the year 1988, to help and give support to the affected, he founded Sahyog trust.[6]
He was called Sabarkantha no Sahyojak (co-founder of Sabarkantha District).[1] Soni was assisted by his wife, Indira Soni, in his work.[7] Before marrying he informed her of his plans to serve the needy through a letter with 17 conditions. They had two children, Dipak and Parul.[5]
It was noted that he hardly ever left Ashram.[5]
Soni died on 23 April 2026, at the age of 81.[8]
Work[edit | edit source]
Initially he established an institution for leprosy patients called Shram Ashram at Singhrot, 15 km from Vadodara. By 1978 they had 400 patients. Post this he left his job as professor and took up Social work as full time activity. Here they spent 10 years serving needy patients. Later on due to some issues with Trustees they left "Shram Mandir". [5]
Soni established a village named ‘Sahyog’, spread over an area of 30 acres near Shamaliya along the highway from Himmatnagar to Shamlaji for people suffering from leprosy. It also provides shelter to Physically handicapped and intellectually disabled people. His organization also serves HIV positive and orphan patients. The collaboration village has now become home to hundreds of people. The village has a hospital, an electoral booth, a primary school, and a grocery shop.[9][6] It also serves HIV positive, physically handicapped and orphan patients.[9]
This village is maintained by an organization called Sahyog Kushtha Yagna Trust which was established on 14 September 1988; Ganesh Chaturthi Day, with 20 leprosy patients, on the land donated by MR. Ramu of Vijapur Sarvoday Ashram.[9][7]
Awards[edit | edit source]
- International Leprosy unit & Sasakava Memorial Health Foundation (Japan) 2006.[10][11][12]
- The Government of India conferred Padma Shri award in 2025.[13][14]
References[edit | edit source]
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 DeshGujarat (2025-01-25). "Padma Awards 2025 ; Tushar Shukla, Pankaj Patel, Pankaj Udhas, Chandrakant Sompura among awardees". DeshGujarat. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
- ↑ "Full list of Padma Awards 2025". The Hindu. 2025-01-25. ISSN 0971-751X. Archived from the original on 2025-01-25. Retrieved 2025-01-31.
- ↑ "Padma Awards 2025 announced". pib.gov.in. Archived from the original on 2025-01-26. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
- ↑ "2025 Padma Shri awards honour unsung heroes of Indian culture and social progress". The Times of India. 2025-01-25. ISSN 0971-8257. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
- ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 5.3 Kutchi, Bhaven (2025-02-02). "કિસી કા દર્દ મિલ સકે તો લે ઊધાર - રવિપૂર્તિ". Gujarat Samachar. p. 1.
- ↑ 6.0 6.1 Dave, Sanjay (2013-05-22). "Sahyog - A Unique Village For Over A 1000 Deserted People". The Better India. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
- ↑ 7.0 7.1 "Padma Award : ગુજરાતના સુરેશ સોની, પરમાર લવજીભાઈ સહિત 6 મહાનુભાવોને મળ્યો પદ્મશ્રી પુરસ્કાર, જાણો તેમના વિશે". GSTV News. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
- ↑ "નિરાધારોના આધાર પદ્મશ્રી સુરેશ સોનીની ચિરવિદાય". navgujaratsamay. 25 April 2026. Retrieved 25 April 2026.
- ↑ 9.0 9.1 9.2 "Padma Awards-2025 : ગુજરાતનાં સુરેશ સોની, લવજીભાઈ પરમારને પદ્મશ્રી એવોર્ડ, જાણો તેમના વિશે". Gujarat First (in ગુજરાતી). Archived from the original on 2025-01-30. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
- ↑ "Activities | Awards". www.sahyogtrust.org.in. Retrieved 2025-02-02.
- ↑ "Sasakawa health prize : stories from South-East Asia". search.library.ucdavis.edu. Archived from the original on 2022-12-21. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
- ↑ "What does ILU stand for?". AcronymAttic. Retrieved 2022-12-21.
- ↑ "Wayback Machine" (PDF). www.padmaawards.gov.in. Archived from the original (PDF) on 2025-01-26. Retrieved 2025-01-30.
{{cite web}}: Cite uses generic title (help) - ↑ "ગુજરાતના લવજીભાઈ પરમાર અને સુરેશ સોનીને પદ્મ શ્રી એવોર્ડ એનાયત કરાશે, જાણો કયા ક્ષેત્રે આપ્યું યોગદાન". www.gujaratsamachar.com (in ગુજરાતી). Retrieved 2025-01-30.
External links[edit | edit source]