Asha for Education

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

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.

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