Charity and Community Services by Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS)

RSS is a large social organization in India well known for its charities and community services. RSS is known to all Indians since half a century. Here RSS odes not refer to "Really simple syndication", we are familiar to in the web. It is Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh.

Rashtriya means "National", Swayamsevak means "Volunteer" and Sangh means "organization" in Sanskrit language. Hence, Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh refers to National Volunteer organization or RSS in short.

RSS cadres are volunteering themselves for charities and community services since inception. The organization is well structured and disciplined. RSS have the highest number of volunteers in the world in its role. Swayamsevak or volunteers are dedicated to the charity and community service as well as to the Nation. The volunteers of RSS feel the Nation India as their mother (Bharat Mata where Bharat means India and Mata means mother).

Major activities of RSS are in India but they also provide services to other countries. They have contributed in many places overseas.

I will be describing about one of their services (Ekal Vidyalay) in the next para.

"The Ekal Vidyalaya Foundation is a charitable trust that initiates, supports, and runs non-formal one-teacher schools (popularly known as Ekal Vidyalayas) all over the country. With the participation of numerous non-profit trusts and organizations, this program has now become the greatest non-governmental education movement in the country."

This is from the horses mouth. This is exactly what the web site of Ekal Vidyala introduces. The movement is inspired by a quote of Swami Vivekananda, " If the poor boy can not come to education, education must go to him".

As of today, they are running 27041 schools in the tribal areas. Most of those are situated in remote places which have no schools. 753123 socially deprived tribal students are enrolled in these schools. The organization have an ambitious plan to run hundred thousand schools (Ekal Vidyalaya) in India with in few years.

The schools do not run in a formal way. Ekal Vidyalaya movement has developed its own and unique way and syllabus of education. They concentrate on four areas of education i.e. Basic education, Health education, Development education and Empowerment education.

These schools cost very little because dedicated volunteers work for the same. There are seven thousand full time devoted volunteers in this organization volunteering for tribal education in India. You can sponsor a school with little money as small amount as approximately $500 for an year.

Friends of tribal society, another organization is built to fund the movement. Mainly business communities of India are members of this organization.

Friends of Tribal Society is an India wide organization that helps runs more than 27000 schools in the tribal areas. Schools are situated in villages, Jungles and hills.

These schools help the tribal students for their general education, discipline, and ethics. Friends of tribal society provides education free of cost.

How the schools run:

Ekal Vidyalaya foundation and friends of tribal society manage affairs of schools and fund raising activities respectively. Foundation selects educated persons from the villages where schools to be started and train them as teachers. The selected teacher runs the school in his or her village for two or three hours. Timings of the schools are flexible and adjusted according to the local need. The society pays for the salary of the teacher. They also provide furniture, pedagogy and teaching materials such as black boards, books, note books and pens.

The society have seven thousands full time volunteers and thousands of other part timers. 23 offices all over India manages all these affairs.

India produces highest quantity of milk in the world. Most of this milk comes from cattle of India. However, cattle of India were in measurable conditions few decades back. RSS took the challenge to save Indian cattle to restore rural economy of India.

RSS started campaign against cow slaughter in India. Their movements have got success in some provinces of India such as Rajasthan, Gujrat, Uttar Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra and some other Indian states.

Cow has been treated as mother in India since ancient times because it was the back bone of Indian rural economy.Cows provided milk and bulls and oxes were used for ploughing and transporting. Hindu community believes that the gods and goddesses live in the body of a cow.The cow progeny provides cow dung used as organic manure. Cattle- urine is one of the best pesticides. This is also used for Ayurvedic medicines.

Volunteers of RSS worked hard to save the cow progeny in India. They have even sacrificed their lives for the same. Govansh Rakshan Samvardhan Parishad, a wing of RSS manages all affairs related to cattle.