SVJCT - Social Programmes

Social Upliftment

Dervan is now marked on the world map as ‘Shreekshetra Dervan’ is a small village situated on the Mumbai - Goa highway in Chiplun taluka, Ratnagiri district. About 45 years ago, a project was introduced for the overall development of this downtrodden village. The goal was to build a society that is capable, ethical, and fearless; one that can contribute towards a strong and successful nation. If each individual who is part of the society is happy, prosperous, and believes in the benefits of walking on the right path, this prosperity can be easily infused into all parts of society, and eventually spread across the nation. A content individual with basic human values instilled in him will certainly gain physical and mental strength.

The goal was simple yet ambitious under the given circumstances – to ensure the availability of basic needs such as food, clothing, shelter, drinking water, health services and education for the poor and abandoned people of this poor society; to free them from the shackles of ignorance, superstitions, and lethargy; to make them feel proud of their history, culture, religion, their role in society and spiritual traditions; to make them aware of their duties a need to raise awareness of their duties and responsibilities and to guide them on the path of action (‘Karma Yoga’) becomes inevitable. Such philosophy and belief highlight a need for selfless organizations working towards this cause with noble individuals who believe in serving humanity.

It was this goodwill and agenda, which motivated Shree Sadguru Sahajanand Saraswati Swami Samarth Maharaj (Shree Maharaj) to initiate a unique project at “Shreekshetra Dervan”, with the assistance of two organizations namely, “Shree Sant Sitarambua Walawalkar Charitable Trust” and “Shree Vithalrao Joshi Charities Trust”. ethical individuals! India is such a vast, diverse country that the efforts of the government in this respect will always be inadequate. As the so-called ‘modern’ society continues indulging in materialistic and pleasure-seeking pursuits, and responsibilities towards their country, religion, and countrymen! Several innovative programs have been introduced at material and intellectual levels to achieve these objectives.

Also, new programs or innovative techniques are constantly implemented to keep up with changing times and needs.The seeds of selfless service sowed by these humanitarian organizations over the past 45 years in the Dervan area, have now flourished and are sharing their fruits with everyone around.

Shiv Samarth Gadh

The great emperor, Chhatrapati Shree Shivaji Maharaj, is a source of pride for the state of Maharashtra and also for the entire country of India. His life, his thoughts, his actions have been an inspiration and continue to awaken us of our hidden potential as a society. To bring forward such examples that will convert the self-centred society into a benevolent one, Shree Maharaj commenced the development of a unique memorial, ‘Shiv Samarth Gadh’ dedicated to Chatrapati Shree Shivaji Maharaj. He was successful in completing this memorial, despite facing tough challenges from many hostile and rigid groups in the process.

Salient features of the memorial include sturdy construction of walls almost making it feel like a fort, a magnificent stone entrance, life-size statues of hundreds of armed soldiers, a temple dedicated to Shree Shiv Chhatrapati (the Emperor) and saint, Shree Ramdas Swami along with creative sculptures depicting important incidents from the life of the Emperor. The visitors almost feel like they are travelling back in time to experience our great history and the era of this great Emperor. The memorial has attracted and inspired people from all across India and abroad.

Trust’s Social Activities

To educate the society, raise awareness of human values, to guide the people on the path of action (‘Karma-yoga’), the society must be comfortable and content in material matters. Philosophy or ethical principles cannot be imparted to empty stomachs. Therefore, before educating or guiding people in the right direction, Shree Maharaj first introduced programs to provide jobs in the region and helped raise their standard of living.

Some of the important humanitarian projects undertaken are listed below:

‘Employment for those who seek it’ – The organization initiated large-scale agriculture and related activities such as tree plantations and animal husbandry, which could easily provide jobs to unskilled agricultural labourers,

Women and farmers from the region. This led to consistent and sufficient income for all those who are employed under this program. Agriculture is, fortunately, a year-long occupation and doesn’t easily get impacted due to market ups or downs. Furthermore, it requires comparatively less investment to generate employment at this scale. These were the primary thoughts behind choosing agriculture as a main part of this program by Shree Maharaj.

The organization has issued identity cards to the agricultural and other labourers, which are used to provide food grains, cooking oil, sugar, clothes, blankets, etc., for free of cost or affordable rates ensuring adequate food and clothing for them and their families.

The organization dug wells and bore-wells in the communities to resolve a long-standing issue with water supply. In addition to this, the organization even today supplies water using water-tankers whenever and wherever necessary. Construction materials such as bricks, cement, roof tiles, etc. for building &/or maintaining houses are provided to the poor and needy. This help in material goods instead of cash is to ensure it is used appropriately for the construction of their homes only.

Proper infrastructure and roads linking remote villages to the main roads or highways have been built by the organization. Employees and their relatives get support in the form of clothing and jewelry (such as ‘mangalsutra’ – a key piece of jewelry for the bride) during marriages in the family. Notebooks, school books, uniforms are distributed free of cost to the school children. Girl students, completing 7th grade are gifted wrist-watches to encourage them to continue their education. School benches, cupboards, tables, chairs, and educational materials are donated to the schools in villages. Pre-school nurseries or day-care children are gifted with toys and provided with nutritious meals.Toilets have been constructed in many schools in the villages.

Classics and other informative books are distributed to the libraries, thus encouraging and instilling good reading habits in children at a young age.The ‘Bhakta-Shreshtha Kamalakarpant Walawalkar Hospital’ was built in 1996 to provide state-of-the-art medical facilities and services under one roof at affordable rates, which now benefits all the people in the Konkan region.

Eradication of Malnutrition

Based on research and observation, the SVJCT’s BKL Walawalkar Hospital took upon itself to improve the health of malnourished children in the region. To build a strong, positive and capable society, it was necessary to break the vicious cycle of malnutrition. With this objective, SVJCT decided to increase awareness of nutrition and developed a ‘Ladoo’ (Sweet balls, a nutritious delicacy that contains 5% Iron, 84% Calcium, 68% Carbohydrates 10% Protein, and other vitamins). These ladoos are distributed every week to preschools, pregnant women and adolescent girls for free in all villages. These Ladoos were recognized and awarded by Glennmark Foundation recently.

Initiatives for Adolescent Girls Walwalkar Sukanya Yojana

For the development of a healthy and strong society, it is necessary to provide positive, favourable conditions so that the girls can eventually grow into psychologically and physically capable women. With this objective, the hospital initiated a scheme for empowering young women. The ‘Walawalkar Sukanya Project’ (Sukanya means ‘Maiden’) was introduced in 2011 for the rural girls between 10 to 19 years. These camps are packed with all-encompassing programs from health checkups to hygiene to nutrition. They get special training on nutrition, how to cook healthy meals using local ingredients. Moreover, the girls are also trained on first aid, and CPR. Impressed with this initiative, the Indian Statistical Institute of Calcutta has praised and awarded a certificate of recognition to the B.K.L.Walawalkar hospital.

Special Schemes for pregnancy and delivery - Walawalkar Yashoda Yojana

Women play a key role in directing the society on the right path and raising an accomplished, cultured future generation. With this philosophy starting with pregnant women, the hospital has introduced several schemes that have made the process of child-birth less challenging. These women are brought from their remote villages to the hospital using an ambulance and the delivery of their first child is carried out for free. The state-of-the-art medical facilities at the hospital, specialized doctors and surgeries on-site have been instrumental in saving the lives of many women and children, thus fulfilling the first and the foremost goal of making the mother healthy and helping build a healthy, cultured future generation.

Walawalkar Dental Hygiene Program

One of the key issues that came to limelight during the surveys conducted in the rural areas was the severe dental decay in the malnourished children. Almost 80% of the young rural population showed signs of dental decay, which in turn led to digestive problems. Consumption of tobacco aggravates this condition and leads to the high rate of oral cancer in the region. SVJCT, therefore introduced the ‘Walawalkar Dental Hygiene Program’ for testing, diagnosis, and timely treatment of dental problems in the young population. The S.V.J.C. Trust has spent over 1 crore rupees on this initiative with a long-term vision for the betterment of the region and to avoid the disasters awaiting these rural kids without proper dental hygiene and timely treatment

Health of pregnant women - Walawalkar Maher Yojana

Early marriages, multiple pregnancies, poverty, alcoholic husbands, insufficient food, and heavy physical labour on the farm and at home lead to malnourishment in most women within the Konkan region. To strengthen the roots of society, SVJCT decided to concentrate on the health of pregnant women. Most of the villages of the Konkan are so inaccessible that usually, villagers can’t reach the hospital in time for medical help. The hospital initiated a ‘Maher scheme’ (Maher means the parental home) to resolve this issue. The expectant mother is brought to the hospital 15-20 days before the delivery and this period is utilized to train her on how to take care of a new-born, right from the baby's bath to its diet.

Child Nutrition and Development Centre - Walawalkar Sudama Yojana

Malnourished children who don’t respond positively to the treatments at home are admitted to the ‘Child Development Centre’ along with their mother for 21 days. A 21-day schedule focusing on the child’s diet and overall health is prepared. When necessary, the child is fed nutritious food every 2 hours. Counselling services are offered to the mother to improve her understanding of child development. Sessions dedicated to culture, sports and readings are conducted. Speechtherapists guide speech improvement. The Child Development Centre helps treat severe grade malnutrition using many innovative approaches