Bhopal Ashram

In March 1965, Shree Shree Ma for the first time set her foot on the small town of Bairagarh situated at a distance of 6 Km. from Bhopal, the capital of Madhya Pradesh. Prior to this, Ma came to Bhopal on the invitation of the then I.G.P., Shri Shyam Sundar Nath Aga.

This Ashram stands as the illustration of her going to any place whatsoever on account of devotees' call filled with love. From the worldly point of view this place is neither a place for pilgrimage nor a place of any importance. Ma had said: "Baba was highly affectionate to this body and it is for him only that this body used to come here again and again." These words were uttered in 1973 in the courtyard of the Ashram at Raipur referring to Sir Datar Singhji after his death.

In 1964 at the pressing request of Sir Datar Singh and his wife, a suitable building was constructed in the premises of his farmhouse. In December 1971, the people of Bairagarh were fortunate to listen to the exposition of the Bhagavata from the blessed mouth of the Dandi Swami Shri Vishnu Ashramji, the renowned mahatma of Suktal in Ma's holy presence. In 1977, the building was dedicated to the Anandamayee Sangha. Currently, the Ashram is engaged in doing many charitable works in the vicinity, particularly amongst the downtrodden and poor.

Ashram School

SHRI SHRI MA ANANDMAYEE UPVAN SHIKSHA SAMITI.

It is a registered charitable Society and has Income Tax Exemption Certificate 80G from Income Tax Department, and has a FCRA certificate from Govt of India to receive foreign funds. It was established on July 1998, with only 7 students. The school is recognized by the State Govt up to class 10.

The School is based on Sri Ma’s teaching “JAN JANARDAN SEVA” (the service of God in the form of children).Near the School is a slum area with a population of about 20,000. The students come from the nearby slum area. There are 6 children in one family. The parents are labourers on daily wages who get employment for barely 15 days in a month. They have large families to support and they do not want to send their children to school but prefer to send them to earn to help the family. About 90% of their fathers are addicted to drink; some of the father’s have a criminal background and about 80% of parents are illiterate. Almost all the children belong to Scheduled Casts and Scheduled Tribes. Their Mother tongue is Hindi and medium of teaching is Hindi.

A selection committee of five teachers including the Headmaster go personally to slum areas and persuade their parents to send their children to school. On the assurance that the school will provide free education and free books, photocopies, uniforms, midday meal etc, their parents agree to their admission. Some of the students are also working in the morning and come to school in the afternoon. Most of the children are rag-pickers. The School is running in a 3-storey building, whose area is 9,000 ft; it has 15 rooms (20 feet length and 15 width).

There are two shifts :

Morning Shift : Nursery to K.G. 2nd -150 students (age 3 to 5 years).

Afternoon Shift : Class 1 to 10 – 400 students (age 6 to 16 years)

The total number of students in the current year is 550.

Curriculum taught is according to State Government schools and the medium is Hindi.

Apart from the curriculum the children are given counseling daily for their personal problems, special periods are given for their cleanliness, as they are living in slums. The teachers do not give them homework as both homework and classwork are done in the school with the help of the teacher – as they have no one to help them in their studies at home.

Facilities provided by the school : Free uniforms, books, photocopies ,pen, pencil, midday meal, Sweaters in winter. Regular health check up etc.

Our achievements :

Our greatest achievement has been these children who were totally ignored by society. They had a 100% result in the exams and overall development, and 0% drop out rate. Since the establishment of the school we have educated 5000 slum children.

Our Staff :

There are 20 teachers and 10 non-teaching staff. Teachers are Graduates and post Graduates and are dedicated to the institution.

Our Budget :

The total Budget for the year 2015-16 is 30 lakhs. The cost of each student is Rs 5,000 per annum.

Our problems :

We have very few donors. Therefore we face financial problems throughout the year. We are planning to upgrade the school to class 12. Due to lack of funds we are unable to provide education to a larger number of students. We require an expansion of the old building to provide a good standard of quality education.

We hope that you all will give us all the necessary support and are looking forward to your early response. We are not getting any grant from the Government or any institution.

Ramnarayan Tiwari

Director (M.Sc., B.Ed., L.L.B. MBA. MSW)

Tel (0)98 261 31393

EMail tiwari.brg@gmail.com