The author and philanthropist was on his first visit to the state after being awarded the Padmabhushan by the Centre last year. The Asha Bhavan Centre, which is going to set up the home, already runs 15 schools in different districts for children till grade 8 as well as a couple of other homes for the physically-challenged.

“Lapierre has been associated with Bengal for a very long time and in fact has been visiting Howrah since 1978. The locals know him and his wife quite well. Upon arriving here, he held a rally with the disabled children and then laid the foundation stone for our new home,” said Biman Hazra, the media coordinator of Asha Bhavan.

The new home will take nearly two years to finish and will come up at a cost of Rs 1 crore. It will have 100 beds to cater to the needs of the disabled. The Centre currently has homes for the disabled in Uluberia and Lakhikantapur.

“Lapierre already has a lot of experience working with different people — especially commendable is the work he is doing in the Sundarbans, providing medical relief to countless people there,” said John Mary Barui, Director of the Centre.

However, Lapierre himself was pleased to see the kind of education being offered to the children in the institute, especially lessons in computers from Class 1 onwards. “I request the people of the village to send their children to this school to educate them in mind and spirit,” he said. He also said that for the first time his cult book —- The City of Joy —- will be published in Sanskrit.