Ramakrishna Vivekananda Mission Vidyabhawan

rately, Higher Secondary school and colleges consist of Degree College for women at Barasat and B.Ed. College for women at Barrackpore under West Bengal State University, Barasat within district North 24 Parganas. Uniqueness of the education system of the Mission lies in the fact that it aims at “Man-making and character building” education for students based on the rich cultural heritage of India as it has been propounded in the teachings of Swami Vivekananda. Secondly, it is a self-less service by the Monks to the society that helps them to realize the Truth Supreme through Manab Seva. Experienced that the people have good faith in the institutions run by this Mission and as a results there are now more than 13,000 students in Mission run educational Institutions whereas it started in the year 1976 with only 20 students. ORPHANAGE

Standard education in a good atmosphere through Gurukul System is the only way to uplift the condition of poor, orphan, neglected children of Rural Sector of India with the hope that in future these children will contribute to improve the existing condition of his/her areas. Mainly with this view the Mission has been running the largest orphanage of about 1,200 children in West Bengal, with arrangements of general education and Vocational training free of cost for all types of children like boys/girls, normal/handicapped irrespective of caste, creed and religion. Among them there are orphans, destitute, Deaf & Dumb and Blind. As the women literacy rate in India is far below than that of Men, the Mission has been concentrating its activities for development of girls and women. It is well known fact that “if you educate a boy, you educate an individual and if you educate a girl, you educate a family”. To maintain these children free of cost we depend on the sponsors from India and aboard. At present sponsorship money comes to Rs. 1000/- per child per month. The number of free-children now are as follows:-

Destitute Boys: 745 Deaf & Dumb Girls: 100

Destitute Girls: 398 Blind Girls: 40

For more details please contact by e-mail at [email protected] or [email protected] / phone 033-2592-0547 / 033-2594-5025. RELIEF WORK

To help the people in their utter-helplessness is one of the Motto for which this Mission has been established. Frequently, India suffers from different types of Natural Calamities like Flood, Super-Cyclone, Earthquake, Tidal Wave (Tsunami), Drought, Tornado and so on. Every time the Mission has taken the opportunity to serve the people in their utter-distress condition. Some note-worthy incidents, where Mission participated, are Super-cyclone Relief in Orissa, Flood Relief in West Bengal, Earthquake relief in Gujrat and Tsunami relief in Andaman Islands etc. VOCATIONAL TRAINING

So far the Indian society has worked more for the benefit of so-called well-to-do families than the people of village areas. Now the Government (Central/State) also has been designing and working out its plan and program keeping in mind the ways of welfare of rural people who cover 75% of the Indian population. It is palpable that prevailing opportunities to give standard education to rural children, as being done in urban areas, are quite inadequate, at the same time we have to help them to stand on their own feet. We find solution of this problem in the teachings of Swami Vivekananda where he told “Technical Education” is the only way to provide gainful-employment to the rural youth. And that is why – the Mission is running two Vocational Training Centers, recognized by the Government and three private centers for giving practical training to about 300 students yearly. One recognized Vocational Training Center (VTC) is operating at Barrackpore (Urban Area) and other is at Joyrambati Village in Bankura district. The Mission desires to open such training centers in all of its branch centers, if generous people come forward to help in this regard for setting up infrastructure. March together, a US-based Charitable Institution run by non-resident Bengalees, came forward to upgrade the existing Vocational Training Centers under this Mission with funds donated by Dr. Hem Prova Ghosh McDonald in loving memory of her mother Kusum Kumari Guha. For more details of Training please contact 033-2592-0508 (VTC, Barrackpore) and 03244-244188 (VTC, Joyrambati), Email : [email protected]. MEDICAL SERVICE

Poor people could not afford the prevailing medical expenses. To help them with subsidized medical facilities alongwith free distribution of medicine, the Mission runs two hospitals, depending mainly on the contribution of generous people - one at Barrackpore and other one at village Suryapur within North 24 Parganas district in West Bengal State where we serve about 50,000 patients annually

DR. NIRENDRA NATH GHSOH MOBILE MEDICAL SERVICE

Plight of the rural people is pathetic for non-availability of adequate medical facilities at their disposal. This huge vacuum can only be filled up if rich people become sympathetic to solve the long-standing problems. Normally poor patients of villages take refuge to quack-doctors or herbal plants or sometimes become victim of mal-treatment. In most of the cases, especially children die due to non-availability of diagnostic facilities and medicine. Hence to address the vast problem with limited resources the Mission is operating a Mobile Medical Service headed by a qualified Doctor and Nurses and also distribute medicine free of cost to the poor patients of interior villages in North 24 Parganas District of West Bengal. This noble project has been materialized by the generous help of Dr. H.P. Ghosh McDonald through a registered charity “March Together” run by non-resident Bengalees at Huston in USA in memory of Dr. Nirendra Nath Ghosh. Every month 500 people get benefit out of the project monthly. NURSING TRAINING CENTRE

Trained nurses have high demand in the present society for huge number of private Nursing Homes and private Hospitals are operating throughout the country and gradually their number is increasing. To take opportunity of this modern craze, the Mission has been running a ‘Nursing Training Center’ at Barrackpore mainly with a view to train the higher secondary passed poor girls of village areas who don’t have adequate merit or money to qualify themselves for Government Nursing Courses with free food and accommodation along with a monthly stipend. At present there are about 40 girls undergoing this training. The Mission also bears the responsibility to place them at suitable employment. Dr. Pradip Ghosh, RKVIF, USA has been funding a part this noble project and we are grateful to him as well. For last 10 years Belle Vue Clinic at Kolkata has been pleased to employ our pass-out trained nurses along with suitable residential quarters. The Mission is highly grateful to the Authorities of Belle Vue Clinic as well for this kind of gesture. Recently Pranab Dutta Roy &Krishna Dutta Roy, USA are taking financial responsibilities of 4 such Nurses. Any further help for employment or sponsorship of Nurses is always welcome, sponsorship for one trainee comes to Rs. 1200/- p.m. WELFARE OF DISABLED GIRLS

National Health can only be kept all right through proper care of every part of the body – rather we should give more attention to the weaker parts. With this view, the Mission started a center for welfare of handicapped girls – especially for deaf and dumb and blind in the year 1993 at village Suryapur, near Nilganj, North 24 Parganas. Needless to say, girls should have more facility than boys. Presently we are looking after 100 Hearing Impaired (HI) girls, 40 Visually Impaired (VI) girls for their education and vocational training and rehabilitation through residential care. The following activities are now being undertaken at this centre for welfare of H.I. and V.I. girls.

1. A special school for general education of 100 H.I. girls 40 V.I. girls from classes LKG to X with 40 teaching and non-teaching staff. This school is now sponsored by the Mass Education Extn. Department, Government of West Bengal.

2. A training-cum-production center of Raincoat Stitching in collaboration with Bengal Waterproof Ltd., Mushroom Cultivation in collaboration with Food Processing Department of the State Government; Poultry, Physyculture, Chalk Making, Exercise Book Binding and Stitching where 45 beneficiaries are being trained.

3. A teachers’ training institute recognized by the Rehabilitation Council of India (RCI) for imparting training to teachers for working in the field of Visual Disability and Hearing Disability for 20 trainees in a batch in each course for 2 years. Name of the courses are Diploma in Special Education on Visual Impairment (D.Ed.- VI) and Diploma in Special Education on Hearing Impairment (D.Ed.- HI).

4. A study center for 2 years B.Ed. course on distant mode for Visual Impairment recognized by the Netaji Subhas Open University.

5. A unit of National Open School for education of deprived students upto Secondary level. For more details please contact 033-2535-1228/ [email protected]

ADOPTION CENTER
This Mission is empowered by the Ministry of Social Justice & Employment, Government of India for giving in–country adoption of neglected/orphan children between the age group 0-5 years. This is also a noble project which is bringing happiness both in the lives of adoptive parents and orphan children. For more details contact at 033-2542-4129. HIGHER EDUCATION
“India has something to give to her children as well as to the World. India is highly rich in its spiritual Wealth and only India can teach the concept of non-violence, eternal truth, renunciation and service, religious harmony, fellow - felling etc”- so said Swami Vivekananda. The Mission is trying to build up a University in the name of Swami Vivekananda for education of India’s rich cultural heritage combined with modern Science and Technology in suitable place in West Bengal. This University will have two wings – one rural and other urban. For this purpose the Mission has already procured adequate land in Kolkata for its urban wing and its Joyrambati branch in Bankura district has enough land for rural wing. Gradually this University shall open its branches in all States of India and major countries of the world paving the way to appear before us as `Vivekananda National University’. We know “Rome was not built in a day”- hence gradually we have to make progress of this great and noble project. Before starting a University, the Mission should have facilities for education at its disposal from school level to college level and then we can reach to the destination. Our said application at UGC and MHRD is waiting for NOC from the Government of West Bengal. Presently we have the following facilities to build up a unitary university like Visva-Bharati at Shantiniketan :-

* X-Class High School with about 7000 students.
* A Higher Secondary Unit with co-education
* A Teachers’ Training Institute for the person working in the field of visual and hearing disability for conferring D.Ed. (VI), D.Ed.(HI) and B.Ed. (VI) Degree recognized by Rehabilitation Council of India and Netaji Subhas Open University
* A College of Education for women affiliated to West Bengal State University, Barasat.
* A Degree College for women affiliated to West Bengal State University, Barasat.
* 2 Vocational Training Centers affiliated to West Bengal State Council of Technical Education;
* 2 Training centers for training of Rural Women on Integrated Child Development Services. We hereby appeal to the public in general and followers of Swami Vivekananda in particular to join hands with us to make this noble project successful for producing useful citizens in India as well as the world as visualized by Swami Vivekananda. RURAL DEVELOPMENT PROGRAMME

Most of the branch centers of the Mission are located at rural sector for the purpose of development of village people through imparting standard general education, Vocational Training on trades like Carpentry, Tailoring, Auto-mechanism, Welding, Electrical Installation & Repairing and Computer and also training on agro-based services like Poultry, Goatery, fishery and Agriculture besides training to village women for integrated child development. Any donation to Ramakrishna Vivekananda Mission for rural development programme is 100% exempted from payment of Income Tax U/S 35CCA of I.T. For more details please contact at 033-2592-0547. WOMEN WELFARE

Women welfare has special importance in the services rendered to the society by the Mission which covers the following categories who live a dignified life in the Mission :-

Aged Unmarried, Married but deserted, Young Widow and those rescued from immoral traffic. There are now 126 such poor women and we rehabilitate them through various job responsibilities in our female sections and training-cum-production centers like Tailoring, Raincoat Stitching, Nursing, Book Binding, Printing Press etc. Occasionally we arrange marriage ceremony for grownup orphan boys and girls also. Any help in the marriage fund will build a happy life. For more information please contact 033-2592-0547. STREET CHILDREN WELFARE
Most of the Indian metropolitan cities have a huge number of Street-dwellers who are hapless and helpless. Most of the people are uneducated and therefore find no alternative than to live on daily labor, rickshaw pulling etc. To solve this malady, it has become necessary to educate the children of prevent - dwellers so that they can live an honourable life. In Kolkata City, the Mission is running 12 such centers for education and special nutrition to 540 children from such families between age group of 5 to 14 years. We are grateful to Government of India, Government of West Bengal and Street Children International (USA) for funding this noble project.