Rekha Harjibhai Parmar, 10th Batch Alumni
Organisation: Santvan Viklang Vikas Mandal
Location: Village Makhiyala, Junagarh – Gujarat
Team/staff members: Rekhaben Parmar as well as her elder sister Nilamben including family and other relatives. A team of 12 people looks upon the other internal affairs like staff salary, food, etc.
Alumni background:
Before coming to Nagarjuna Training Institute, Nagaloka, Nagpur, Mrs. Rekhaben was pursuing her B.com from a local college as well as working in a gold company in the Junagadh district of Gujarat. Later she moved on to the Narayan Seva Sanstha of Udaipur district of Rajasthan along with her elder sister for her treatment and operation. At the Narayan Seva Sanstha, she realised that now she should not engage herself with Job, however, she needs a platform where she can get a clear vision for her future endeavors. The clear vision she got from Nagaloka. Before coming to Nagaloka, she was not aware much about the Buddha and Dr. Babasaheb Ambedkar including their contribution to humankind. She knew a little about these personalities through her father. One day some of her father’s friends told her father about Nagaloka and its Dhammasekhiye training. Her father discussed the same with Mrs. Rekhaben, and then she decided to go for Dhammashekhiya training and underwent the same in 2011.
Changes after NTI course:
As she stated that she got a clear vision from Nagaloka’s Dhamma Training. In the training, she got to know about the Bodhisattva Ideal and the qualities of a Bodhisattva and other Dhamma teaching. Due to meditation, she developed not only compassion but the confidence to run an NGO for the differently-abled people irrespective of their belongingness. Currently, she is practicing compassion through her work with disabled people. The learning from Nagaloka had transformed her life thoroughly and then she decided to devote the rest of her life to this compassionate noble cause.
Project initialization:
The NGO was registered by her father in 1998 and conducts some activities under the same banner. In 2012, the two sisters Nilamben Parmar (80% handicapped) and her younger Sister Rekha Parmar (An NTI Alumni) started serving, only with two girls students, in one small hut for mentally & physically retarded girls and boys. They started services like education, universal principles like Metta and Karuna, etc for the students. They also started conducting motivation training for making students self-reliant so that they must not depend on others for their daily life routine. The organisation was started with a little donation. Now there are 35 girls and boys in the age group of 4 to 50 years. Since 2012, the work of Rekhaben has reached thousands of people in her district as well as other places.
Project details:
Santvan Viklang Vikas Mandal which means consolation disabled development group is a Junagarh Gujarat-based NGO is being run by Mrs. Rekhaben Parmar as well as her elder sister Mrs. Nilamben Parmar. Mrs. Rekha is a Nagarjuna Training Institute Alumni. The NGO runs a residential hostel for the people who are differently-abled and need love and care in their daily life. Apart from this, Mrs. Rekhaben conducts various training for the students on disabilities – mental and physical, Social awareness, business, and employment with the help of training & treatment experts. Her organisation not only runs the classes but accommodates all the students in the hostels by providing all the life necessities.
Major Activities:
- The Students are given treatment and check-ins after standardized tests, assessment, observation & counseling.
- The students are in Yoga training, meditation-like Aanapansati, MettaBhavana including exercise & indoor games.
- The girls are taught A.D.L activities like daily routine brushing, bathing, combing, cleaning, pressing, etc, in both methods of teaching – theoretical-practical.
- The student is given therapies like PHYSIO, OT, SOCIALLY, COGNITIVE Development, SPEECH, TOILET TRAINING
- New incoming students are given training at least for six months.
- After that they are given the training to live in groups.
- They are given cognitive and speech work training.
- The student is entertained with social programmes including reading, picnic, competitions exams, and training, organizing festivals and projecting different organizational documentaries, films & much more.
- The students are trained to participate in Khel Mahakumbh ( a festival of games)
- Students are given business & industrial pieces of training.
- They are trained in small-scale industries like cotton, colour, candle, arts & craft, Agarbatti, etc.
- Education, reading, writing, gardening, catering, stitching, tailoring, etc are taught to them.
- Musical programmes are arranged during social & religious functions.
- The girls are given treatment at Trimurti hospital, Lifecare, Shreyas, etc. – at Junagadh Gujarat.
Beneficiaries: People who are differently-abled and eligible as per Santvan’s (consolation) selection criteria across India.
Our Donors: Local donation as well NRI.
Project Outcome: When she started her NGO, there were only two disabled girl children in a rented hut, but now she does take care of 35 disabled students through her NGO cum residential hostel.
Image Gallery:
Further Plans and Appeals: Mrs. Rekha is dedicated to her work as she believes this is one of the most compassionate works she learned from NTI Nagpur. In the coming future, she wants to extend her hostel to as many students as she can. Therefore, she requires support in:
- To open a new hostel to accommodate (at least 100 students) highly disabled people.
- To have a big hall, attached toilet bathrooms, medical rooms, physio center & vocational centers.
- To develop & enlarge the dining hall, kitchen, storerooms & wash areas.
- To enlarge the office & staff room.
- To develop the multipurpose rooms, doctor room, etc.
Rekha has been running her NGO by getting support from the local donation and was able to develop institutions such as hostels. However, she requires furniture like beds and so on. As the students are disabled therefore she wants to set up CCTV surveillance throughout the hostels for the safety of the students including LED Monitor setups. In addition, she also requires a solar panel system for the electricity to avoid huge electricity expenditure, or the electric solar panel is also environmentally friendly. She also requires financial assistance for the Dining Hall and required instruments for the same.
You can contact Rekha through:
Email: rekhac378@gmail.com
santvan.guj@gmail.com
Mobile: +91- 9726105487
Website: www.santvan.org
FaceBook Link: Click Here
