Sindhutai Sapkal is a beloved Maharashtra activist called Mai by thousands of orphaned children. When the state government asked her to shut down her children’s homes, journalist Sucheta Dalal started a petition on Change.org to save the orphanages.

In less than a week, 20,000 people signed the petition to save Sindhutai’s orphanages. The Maharashtra CM was forced to take notice and respond:

Union Minister For Women & Child Development, Maneka Gandhi also responded directly to the petition assuring the signers that the matter was resolved and that Sindhutai Sapkal’s orphanages would not be shut down.