Women really do not need to be empowered by men. In one of Swami Vivekananda’s conversations we come across his strong views on the issue. He did not think it was possible for men to solve women’s problems. Their duty lay in providing education and opportunity to women, and once that was done women would automatically become capable of looking after themselves. This has been the Ramakrishna Missions basic attitude to women’s welfare and the philosophy underlying all its activities in this sphere. As Swami Vivekananda said, “Our duty is to put the chemicals together, the crystallisation will come through God’s laws. Let us put ideas into their heads, and they will do the rest”.
The Ramakrishna Mission singles out women’s empowerment as a key focus for improving Indian life. Let us look at the work Ramakrishna Math and Ramakrishna Mission is doing in this field. Mainly “Women Welfare Programmes” is divided in to five services
- By way of giving academic education to girls.
- Care for pregnant and expectant women through the maternity departments of our hospitals.
- Old Age Home for Women.
- Educational Services to Girls (exclusively for girls); Nurses Training Institutes.
- Programmes for Enhancing Women Empowerment by Forming Self-Help Groups.
- Programmes for Enhancing Women Empowerment by giving technical or vocational training.
From 2016, Ramakrishna Mission had launched its rural development programmes “Sarada Palli Vikas Prakalpa“ to provide opportunities to women for their skill transformation.
- Aims at conducting some courses/vocational training resulting in educating and/or empowering women with job skills.
- The age group is between 18-40 years.
- This programme is conducted daily for about 2– 3 hours in the morning and/or evening.
- The maximum number of students as per the budget and duration of the training.
The SPVP project provides an opportunity to hundreds of village women irrespective of caste, creed, colour, religion, etc. hailed from city slums and interior villages in different parts of India.
The SPVP was implemented in 2017. To continue a total of about 6 SPVP units, continual financial assistance is very much required. One SPVP unit needs about Rs. 5.0 Lakhs per year.
Implementation through the branch centres: The said SPVP units are run through our branch centres situated in different parts of India. Our monks and volunteers look after this project with service-mindedness.
Role of the Headquarters: These SPVP units are monitored and funded through our Headquarters from where the yearly required funds are disbursed to the implementing branch centres in instalments. Hence, to run the SPVP units as a whole, the financial assistance of the service-minded individuals and philanthropic organisations is hereby sincerely sought.
The monitoring of the SPVP is not only based on the reports and accounts sent by our centres from time to time. It is also done through direct information from the project sites. A team of monks from the Headquarters visits the SPVP -implementing places to oversee the activities and to collect the first-hand information. If required, the concerned persons are advised about the changes required in the project in respect of the SPVP guidelines sent to them. Proper implementation of SPVP is thus ensured.
The positive impact of SPVP project impels us to continue it. So, we would like to run the SPVP in future as long as we get the required funds. The financial help of any individual and organisation to our Mission for the SPVP Project may come in the form of Corpus Fund the interest of which will be utilized for running the SPVP units.
The corporate houses may provide their CSR funds to our Mission in running as many SPVP units as possible for some years, and it will be a great help in continuing this noble project. For any query regarding the SPVP Project, please feel free to write to: [email protected]