.jpg)
वृंदानव में करीब 54 एकड़ परिसर में साध्वी ऋतंभरा का 'वात्सल्य ग्राम' आश्रम है। इस आश्रम में पराश्रित बच्चे, महिला और वृद्धों के निवास की व्यवस्था है। आश्रम के विशाल दरवाजे के बाईं ओर एक पालना है, जहां कोई भी व्यक्ति, किसी भी समय अनचहा या अनाथ शिशु को रखकर जा सकता है। पालने में बच्चा छोड़कर जाने वाले व्यक्ति को आश्रम से संबंधित सदस्य किसी भी प्रकार का प्रश्न नहीं पूछता। पालने में कोई बच्चा रखते ही पालने पर लगा सेंसर आश्रम के व्यवस्थापन को इसकी सूचना देता है और आश्रम का कोई अधिकारी आकर उस बच्चे को आश्रम ले आता है। आश्रम में प्रवेश होते ही वह बच्चा वात्सल्य ग्राम परिवार का सदस्य हो जाता है। अब वह वह अनाथ नहीं कहलाता, उसे आश्रम में ही माँ, मौसी, दादा-दादी; सब रिश्तेदार मिल जाते हैं! यहाँ लाकर छोड़े गए प्रत्येक बच्चे का उपनाम परमानन्द रखा जाता है। "परमानन्द" यह साध्वी ऋतंभरा जी के गुरु का नाम है।
आश्रम में बच्चों के लिए, सामवेद गुरुकुलम् पाठशाला है। यहां सीबीएससी के अभ्यासक्रमानुसार पढ़ाई के साथ ही बच्चों के सर्वांगीण विकास के भी उपक्रम चलाए जाते हैं। यहां के बगीचे में बच्चों के सामान्य ज्ञान के विकास के लिए विविध प्राणियों के पुतले (Model) रखे गए हैं। बच्चों की नैतिक शिक्षा के लिए रामायण आदि महाकाव्य के प्रसंगों की झांकियां बनाई गईं हैं। इन बच्चों को प्राकृतिक चिकित्सा और योग की भी शिक्षा दी जाती है। लड़कों को पांचवी तक आश्रम के गोकुलम् में रखा जाता है, फिर आगे की पढ़ाई के लिए उन्हें भोसला मिल्ट्री स्कूल जैसे भारत के अच्छे निवासी शालाओं में भेज जाता है।
इस शाला के अतिरिक्त आश्रम की दूसरी भी एक शाला है। जहां बाहर के करीब 350 विद्यार्थी मात्र 10 रुपये मासिक शुल्क देकर पढ़ते हैं। इन विद्यार्थिंयों को शाला का गणवेश, एक समय का भोजन और शाला के लिए आवश्यक साहित्य नि:शुल्क दिया जाता है।
पिछड़े वर्ग की महिलाओं के लिए आश्रम में 'गीता रत्न' प्रशिक्षण केन्द्र है, जहां इन महिलाओं को बेकरी उत्पाद, एम्ब्रॉयडरी आदि स्वयं रोजगार का प्रशिक्षण दिया जाता है।
आप वही साध्वी ऋतम्भरा जी हैं जिनकी सिंह गर्जना ने 1989-90 के श्रीराम मन्दिर आन्दोलन को ऊर्जा प्रदान करने का महान कार्य किया था, परन्तु उसी आक्रामक सिंहनी के भीतर वात्सल्य से परिपूर्ण मातृत्व हृदय भी है जो सामाजिक संवेदना के लिए द्रवित होता है। यही हृदय की विशालता हिन्दुत्व का आधार है जो अन्याय का दृढ़तापूर्वक सामना करता है और संवेदना से द्रवित होकर समाज के उत्थान के लिए शक्ति प्रदान करता है।
undefinedTrapped in troubles from all sides Smt Chandrika Chauhan had decided to migrate from Solapur with her family in 1993, as she did not have meals to feed her family and all sources of income had dried. At a fine morning she cleaned her old sewing machine and took up tailoring work from neighbours. That activity has now turned into a big movement joined by thousands of women in and around Solapur city. Not only saving the families of around 1,000 women who were at the verge of disintegration, through counselling and also rehabilitating even the unwed mothers, Smt Chauhan has also made many visually challenged girls self-reliant. Chitrakoot Shilpi Nanaji Deshmukh is her inspiration, who in 1997 turned down her request to join the Samaj Shilpi Yojna and directed her to start women empowerment work in Solapur. The name Udyogvardhini was also given by Nanaji. Since then she did not look back and is moving forward setting new milestones in women empowerment. Affectionately called ‘Bhabhi’ among the women of her group, she always avoid acting as a leader, rather joins all the activities whether kitchen, counselling, tailoring or other activities as a ground worker. When asked how she started the work she says: “Though I had started the work in 1996, I started expanding the work in different localities in 1997. Since I have also worked as a corporator in Solapur Municipal Corporation for some time I was aware of the problems of women. Later I dedicated myself to Udyogvardhini connecting women in distress with any of the activity of Udyogvardhini.”
Today Udyogvardhini mainly runs three kinds of activities—catering, counselling and old age home. It is firm not to start its own industry on large scale, rather develops individual entrepreneurs. Undoubtedly women, both in rural and urban areas, do not get sufficient money for investment, because even the family members do not trust them for investment. That is why Smt Chauhan suggests minimum Rs 500 and maximum Rs 10,000 investment by women for starting any activity. Majority of the women who are now doing good business had started their activity with this meager investment only.
 The activities started for self-reliance include Beauty Parlour, Bhaakri Making, Book Binding, Catering Service, Fire Wood Seller, House Maid Placement, Small Grocery Shop, Tailoring Shop, Vegetable Seller, Groundnut Chatni Making, Manufacturing Units, FMCG Products, Gift Items, Handicrafts, etc. Apart from it the training is imparted for chalk making, cookery class, incense sticks making, hand paper making, hand work on dress materials, rangoli workshop, adult literacy programme, self-help group orientation, two-wheeler driving, etc.
“Majority of the women visiting us come with some or the other trouble. In that condition telling them to first get training and arrange money for investment is impractical. The hunger cannot be satisfied with speeches. First we discuss with them their real family condition. I personally talk to each and every individual at least for an hour to understand their condition—what she knows and what she can do. If she can contribute in catering, she is connected to that work at any of the three places. We everyday prepare the meals for at least 2,000 people. Those who know tailoring work are told to prepare any such item. They are paid even for this evaluation work,” Smt Chauhan points out. The old age home has proved to be a boon for the destitute women. The interesting experiment done by Udyogvardhini is for empowerment of visually challenged girls. The government provides them some help till the age of 18. But the girls, who do not have families, face many hardships at that age. Such girls are accommodated in the old age home. This has been named as Mangal Drishti Bhavan—‘Mangal’ is for old age people and ‘Drishti’ for blind girls. All girls are first taught to carry out the house hold work including preparing meals, cleaning floors, cleaning utensils, etc. Their lodging and boarding is free and they normally earn about Rs 3,000 per month. Eight of such girls have now been married off. Even now they come from their houses for work.
The women who can work independently are allowed to work with Udyogvardhini only for two years and then they are motivated to start their own work thus making them ‘owner’ and not the ‘worker’. They are fully trained in all activities like taking raw material, preparing items, marketing, billing, taking orders, supplying material and even filing tax returns. Udyogvardhini enjoys taking up new challenges. Lok Mangal Group which owns a chain of retail outlets and Malls in Solapur organises mass weddings in the city every year. “We provide them at least one lakh chapattis on every occasion. Like vegetables, chapattis cannot be prepared in advance. But we have the manpower to provide the chapattis in the shortest duration. We have the record of preparing one lakh chapattis in 22 hours. We are doing it since 2009,” Smt Chauhan says. Udyogvardhini has emerged as a hope for the women in distress. Its team is efficient enough to extend all possible help required by an individual. It boosted the confidence level of the average women to the extent that they now export their products to developed countries like the USA and UK.
|
|
State
|
Name & Address of the Samstha
|
Pratinidhi
|
President
|
Secretary
|
Treasurer
|
Kshetra Sewa Pramukh
|
|
Malwa
|
(Aff.No.212)
Bhaiya Ji Dani Seva Nyas,Indore,
76-Archana,
Rambagh,Indore:452004,M.P.,
|
Sri.
HC. Upadhyay
|
Sh.
Omprakashji Agrawal, 54 Azad Nagar, Ujjain. Cell No. 9826069592
|
Sh.
Laxman Nawathe , 539, Datta Nagar, Indore. Cell No. 9425073022
|
Shri
Raviji Bhatia, 33, Basantpuri Colony, Tejpur Gadbadi, Indore. Cell No
.9926073444
|
Sh.
Gorelal Barche
|
|
Country
|
  India |
|
Area
|
|
|
• Total
|
81,767 km2
(31,570 sq mi)
|
|
500 m (1,600 ft)
|
|
|
Population (2001)
|
|
|
• Total
|
18,889,000
|
|
• Density
|
230/km2 (600/sq mi)
|
|
Languages
|
|
|
• Major languages
|
|
|
31.6 (2001)
|
|
|
31.6 (2001)
|
|
|
93.8 (2001)
|
|
|
Largest city
|
|
ErumpiliBhadraKali Temple
|
.jpg)
