Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Sargachi

Project Brief: RKMA-Sargachi is providing skill based training to unskilled youth of the Sargachi region so that they can earn their own livelihood and also support their families. This project also supports a Book Bank for students from poor families.
Project Type: Resource Centers (description)
Primary Focus: creating resources (description)

Secondary Focus: other

Area: Rural
Supporting Chapter Contact: Athens
Status: current / ongoing
Project Steward: Abhyuday Mandal
Project Partner(s): Sargachhi Ramakrishna Mission
Other Contacts:
Project Address: , Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama Sargachi,P.O. - Sargachi Ashrama Dist. - Murshidabad ,Beldanga,
WEST BENGAL  742408
Tel: 011 91 3482232222
Stewarding Chapter: Athens
Sep 2023AthensUSD 21888
Aug 2022AthensUSD 26925
Nov 2021AthensUSD 20535
Oct 2020AthensUSD 20546
Oct 2019AthensUSD 21221
Aug 2018AthensUSD 27559
May 2018AthensUSD 29760
Sep 2017AthensUSD 45379
May 2017AthensUSD 1830
Nov 2016AthensUSD 7594
Oct 2016AthensUSD 18253
Nov 2015AthensUSD 15487
Apr 2015AthensUSD 9693
Oct 2014AthensUSD 8302
Jun 2014AthensUSD 3384
Feb 2014AthensUSD 2462
Sep 2013AthensUSD 2553

Total = $283371

Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama (RKMA) – Sargachi is located in the Murshidabad district of West Bengal. Most of the people in this district depend on agriculture for their livelihood. In 2006, Murshidabad was named by the Ministry of Panchayati Raj as one among India’s 250 most backward districts (out of a total of 640). It is one of the eleven districts in West Bengal currently receiving funds from the Backward Regions Grant Fund Programme. Here is a report on the project on a local TV channel https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xqedJ2v1Bc8

RKMA is running a vocational program to provide technical skill based training to local youth. The various programs that are currently in progress at the institute are as follows: tailoring, food processing, manufacturing of fiber reinforced plastic, medical/nursing, media, automobile repair, electrical, AC/refrigeration, soft skills, information/communication technology (tally/hardware/software), electronics, fitting and plumbing. In 2016, three new courses will be initiated viz. manufacture of woolen/winter garments, ceramic ornaments and jute bags. Asha-Athens is financially supporting these programs since 2013. At present, in 2016, they have more than 500 students enrolled in their vocational training programs. These programs were incepted with financial assistance from the West Bengal Govt. However, in recent years Government discontinued funding citing lack of funds. These programs are currently run with external support. Although Govt. supported long term programs have been discontinued, frequently RKMA-Sargachi hosts short term vocational courses, which the Govt. organizes in collaboration with other institutes.

Apart from conducting vocational training courses at the institute, RKMA-Sargachi also hosts various programs on rural development, run by the Government of India. For instance, RKMA hosted a week-long rural sanitation awareness program called, ‘Nirmal-Bangla’ organized by the Government of West Bengal in the month of August 2016, using V-Sat technology. It is an offshoot of the Clean India Campaign started by the Modi Government. The Government of India collaborated with Tata-Sky, which provided technical support for this program. In this program, there was constant interaction among viewers and ‘Nirmal-Bangla’ organizers through broad-band satellite connection.
Swami Akhandanandaji Maharaj, by 40 years of his austerity and extensive service activities turned this unknown, remote village of Sargachi into a huge complex with vairied philanthropic activities. This Ashrama has been rendering its humble services to the humanity in all the above-noted sphere of activities uninterruptedly for more than one hundred years giving solace and peace to thousand of suffering people in these rural areas. The multifarious educational and cultural activities of the Sargachi center of the Ramakrishna Mission have behind them the inspiration of years of this new form of tapasya of its founder Swami Akhandanandaji Maharaj.
Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Sargachi, the first branch center of Ramakrishna Mission with its present Headquarters at Belur Math was founded by Swami Akhandanandaji Maharaj, a direct disciple of Sri Ramakrishna in 1897. Imbibed with the ideal- “Service to man is service to god” as propounded by Swami Vivekananda, the high-souled and compassionate Swami Akhandananda came forward to rescue the famine-stricken villagers of Murshidabad on 15th May, 1897 by distributing rice at Mahula, the birth place of this Ashrama, about 3 Kilometers southwest of Sargachi. The present site of Sargachi was taken over in March 1913 after 2 years of its existence at Mahula and 14 years at Shibnagar. It has grown into a huge complex with varied activities. It has about 33 acres of land dotted with flower gardens, agricultural and vegetable gardens, green field and mango groves. The Ashrama has engaged itself in disaster-management, educational and healthcare activities of the local people since its inception.