Himalayan Villages Education And Development Program
Himalayan Villages Education And Development Program (or Himved) is a vision by Swamy Dharmanand (Babaji), aimed at providing education upto high school level to every child in the Uttarakhand state located in the lower Himalayas, since 2010.
About The VillagesUttarakhand is rich in natural beauty: snow capped peaks, sprawling landscapes, clean & crisp air and a warm, friendly local population. Tourism, specifically of the outdoor nature, remains the only source of revenue for the handful of villages peppered on the remote slopes of this mountainous area. However, the very attractions that promote this seasonal industry adversely affect the populace. The remote areas might be great for a trek, but tourist flow on the ill-maintained infrastructure further burdens them, whether it maybe in regards to road connectivity, electricity or access to health facilities or education. It does not help that the region is also prone to natural calamities such as landslides and avalanches, again factors that limit the scope of infrastructural investment.
VisionOver the years, lack of facilities in the region has resulted in a drain of youth resources as people are forced to move to the plains or cities to make a living. The lack of education facilities denies them access to good jobs and they are forced to eke out a living, far from home, doing difficult jobs. However, the people from Uttarakhand are proud and lay great importance on their heritage. This is reflected in their brave efforts to run local schools that are sadly lacking, not just in infrastructure but also in the most basic of all, in teachers!
In 2010, when the local schools of Khati, Vacham, Jatoli and Jhuni in the Pindari region in Uttarakhand were on the brink of closure, Babaji stepped in to provide support to employ teachers and thus Himalayan Villages Education And Development Program (Himved) was born. Himved aims to focus on this basic need to provide every child in the region with a decent education that will ensure a reasonable livelihood for future generations. Specifically, Babaji concentrates on all the activities in these schools, employing and paying salaries for fifteen teachers across fifteen schools with total student strength of more than 1000 (from class I to X).
However, only a handful of donations by people known to Babaji have sustained the initial monetary sustenance provided by him, making the continued operations of the schools difficult. These have been stop-gap arrangements and do not really provide the assurance required to retain both teachers and students. Himved aims to organize a corpus fund that will be used to develop the local schools and boost the morale of the teachers and students. This vision is in great need of support, be it monetary or voluntary, to ensure a stable education for every child in the region. For more information on how to support Himved, please go to Donations.
We are grateful to Serve-Child Foundation, Vasundhara Enclave, New Delhi for sponsoring two schools and their expenses.
About Babaji
Swamy Dharmanand, fondly known as Babaji, first moved to Pindari in 1990. Since then, Babaji has lived in a stark stone hut nestled in a serene valley between snow capped mountains and has dedicated his life to meditation. Babaji is also involved in studying the environment and helps protect and foster the forest and wildlife around. In addition, he supports research in glaciers with his vast know-how from living at the Pindari glacier. Babaji is actively involved in social work in the nearby villages, and is a big part of their everyday lives. Himved, conceptualized in 2010, by Babaji, is close to his heart as it is aimed at providing basic education to children.
DonateHimved is not a Trust or NGO. It is solely being run by donations given by people. Babaji welcomes any and all support, be it monetary or voluntary. At its current stage of implementation, the crucial need is for a corpus fund to provide stability to the schools' operation, in order to uplift the underprivileged children.
Account name: Swamy Dharmanand
Bank name: State Bank of India
Branch name: Ranikhet (Uttarakhand, India)
Branch code: 0704
Account number: 10932004150
Account type: Savings
IFSC Code: 0000704
SWIFT Code: SBININBB506contactFor more details , please contact Babaji at
pindaribaba@gmail.com.
Source :http://himved.org/
