Praful Bhatt runs the very successful Santosh Community Centre in Leicester, where he is the Chair Person. He is also the Treasurer of Glen Street Play Group, a charity which he saved from closing down. With his sister Devi, he also runs a small Catering Company. His pride and joy is his charity Santosh Seva Centre, feeding needy children, buying books, shoes and clothing.
Praful was born in Bhanvad, a small town in Gujarat near Porbandar, where M K Gandhi was born. They were a large family of five brothers and two sisters, but his father had fallen on hard times, hence they had little food to eat, only one set of clothing worn every day, and no shoes to protect their feet. He started working at the age of just eight: selling tea, on a farm collecting ground nuts, selling ice lollies, collecting cow dung, being a human horse, selling paraffin and when nothing else paid, ending up begging for food and money in the streets.
On 2nd March 1981, Praful arrived in the UK not knowing any English; and worked on very low wages. He went to evening classes and improved his English which helped him obtain Office work. He worked for Leicester City Council for 15 years.
In March 1999, he started his own Garment Manufacturing Business which traded for 10 years.
At present, he is working on a project called £1 Magic Housing Scheme, which aims to bring people together in an innovative approach to the housing crisis. Praful is a classic Community Social Worker.
1) Which place, or city or country do you most feel at home in?
I feel perfectly at home in Leicester where I have lived for the past 37 years.
I enjoy visiting my place of birth in Gujarat, walking around the streets I knew as a child. I love London and every time I visit, I feel I was there in a previous life. Toronto also feels like home to me because I have visited many times.
2) What are your proudest achievements?
My proudest achievements are leaving India, coming to the UK and making a successful life for myself and my family; also learning the English language and running businesses. Now I am running the not-for-profit Santosh Community Centre I founded. I am also proud of saving the Glen Street Play Group charity from closure and running a charity in my home town in India.
3) What inspires you?
I am inspired by seeing the struggles people face day in day out; I feel the urgent need to do something to get them out by offering a solution or a helping hand. I find it extremely hard to just stand by and do nothing. I get this from my lovely Mum. I am also inspired by other people, like Gandhi and Mandela.
4) What has been the biggest obstacle in your career?
My biggest obstacle is my lack of education and inability to write clearly and concisely. My inability to be diplomatic makes some people run a mile, but at least they know my stand on issues. Because of the language problems in my early days in the UK, I was shy and fear of being rejected held me back for many years.
5) Who has been the biggest influence on your career to date?
Watching my father lifting heavy bundles of ready-made garments and going selling in the villages in India, walking for miles, instilled hard work in me. Seeing my mother carrying bundles of dirty washing on her head for other people did the same. My first partner of 22 years, Eric Dixon, was Managing Director of a big company so I learnt business ethics from him. My present partner, Dr David Pollak has a calm influence on me.
6) What is the best aspect about your current role?
The best aspect is spending time with the service users, listening to their needs and getting it done immediately. Most of my service users call me their son, which is wonderful. Watching my Managing Director Bharat Patel building the trustworthy Santosh team is encouraging, as are the wonderful non-executive board members. We have just won the tender contract with the Leicester City Council to provide day care for the next three years.
7) And the worst?
The worst aspect of my role is the amount of paper work involved. Its repetitive nature creates huge frustration and takes time away from the actual job we are trying to do, care for people. Transporting service users every morning and afternoon can be a mammoth task, especially when a driver has unexpectedly rung in sick.
8) What are your long term goals?
My long term goal is to help create a satellite Santosh Day Centre in Oadby and also look into respite care. I am also trying to organise a scheme whereby we can help reduce the bed blocking in our hospitals so that more patients can be treated quickly. If I had the money, I would put the idea into practice tomorrow. I want to make my £1:00 Magic Housing Scheme a reality.
9) If you were Prime Minister, what one aspect would you change?
It has to be Housing. Housing is treated as a commodity instead of a necessity. People want to make money from housing. No wonder we have a housing crisis and homelessness. Young people today have no hope of getting on the property ladder. I believe I have the formula that can change the housing crisis.
10) If you were marooned on a desert island, which historical figure would you like to spend your time with and why.
Nelson Mandela, for what he has achieved in his life time despite being in solitary imprisonment for many years for the fight for freedom. I remember the day he was released from prison, and thinking “what can he do now?” I could learn from his ability to negotiate, his patience and undying belief that it’s never too late to do anything. You are on this planet for a reason, so make your life count and do something amazing today.
——————
