Seva

Seva - Seva in Sri Premananda Ashram

Swamiji conducting free food distribution in 1993

Premananda Home for Children

Sri Premananda Ashram is situated in one of the most disadvantaged regions of the state, Tamil Nadu. Most of the children from poor families are obliged to find employment as soon as they are "fit for work", which means around the age of eight or ten. They work as cheap hired labour in fields, factories, restaurants or on building sites. Excluded in childhood from education and knowledge, including a basic awareness of hygiene, nutrition, contraception etc., they inevitably pass on their ignorance to their children. Therefore, the education of these disadvantaged children is a very important task for Indian society and Swamiji has always stressed the value of children's education as forming the basis for a better future. Presently (2004) more than 900 children live in the Sri Premananda Home for children and study at its school, which has been officially recognized by the government and has received awards for excellence.

All these children come from deprived economic and social backgrounds, mostly from the class of small-scale farmers or agricultural labourers. Some are orphans and many have only one parent. Nearly all of them belong to the lower castes (classes) of Indian society. Here in the Ashram they receive accommodation, food, medical care and a good education - all free of charge. We offer these children a new home where they are able to grow up in a good environment.

Sri Premananda Asharm works in collaboration with a government agency fighting against child labour. They take children from these work places, such as factories and stone mills, and bring them to the Ashram to live and to study at our school.

Premananda High School

Sri Premananda Ashram runs its own Premananda High School, which has been teaching the first through tenth standard since 1994. It provides poor children with an education leading to qualifications which can be the basis for higher studies. Even though, in village schools, the government offers education free of charge (usually up to the fifth standard) the quality of this education is mostly poor and very basic, and often does not open the way to further education. Our school has a very good success rate and the children often pass the government's public exams with high marks. We have also recently introduced the use of educational toys and we give special importance to physical training as well as cultural and literary education for the children.

Swamiji conducting free food distribution in 1993

Reforestation

Since 2000 the Ashram has planted several thousand trees in the local area and introduced water supplies based on alternative energy sources, including windmills and solar pumps, for irrigation.

Future Projects

Many more and larger projects are planned for the future. In order to give more children the opportunity to complete their studies up to the twelfth standard, and afterwards enter university if they wish, we have started work on the construction of a bigger school. This project will provide for the education of 1500 children and will incorporate eleventh and twelfth standards.

We have already begun with the construction of larger hostels, a bigger kitchen and a new dining hall in order to accommodate more children.

During the following years we want to extend our educational programme and establish new educational facilities such as a medical college, engineering college and others.

It is our aim to establish a large hospital, with excellent facilities and highly qualified doctors, to offer the poorer strata of society the best medical care free of charge, care that is otherwise only available at very expensive private hospitals and far beyond their means.

We plan to establish a hostel for women, especially for widows, as well as various workshops and training centres where women and youngsters can learn practical skills and so have the opportunity to earn an independent living.

We also intend to enlarge our reforestation project and to establish and promote the use of alternative energy sources.

Swamiji conducting free food distribution in 1993

"If you do service in a selfless way and with a good heart, then many others benefit by it. It is a great gift for you to have the chance to do service and to help society. It is a very great thing in life to help uplift human society in a true and pure way. The benefit gained by society will, in turn, benefit the country. From a small and pure act of service many other acts of service will occur. If you continue to be a source of service then human society will be uplifted and will slowly start to change."

Swami Premananda