The Jamnalal Bajaj Seva Trust

Set-up in 1942, the Jamnalal Bajaj Seva Trust was the first charitable trust to be formed after Jamnalalji's death at the initiative of Kamalnayan Bajaj. His entire share in the family wealth made up the initial corpus of the Trust. Gandhiji personally drafted the Memorandum and Articles of the Association and objectives of the Trust. Initially the focus was towards assisting Sarvodaya workers and Gandhian constructive programmes.

Vishwaneedam

In 1960, on Acharya Vinoba Bhave's suggestion, the Trust scaled up its activities and established the International Sarvodaya Centre - Vishwaneedam over 400 acres of land on the outskirts of Bengaluru. Vishwaneedam's activities are centred around providing benefits free of cost and improving lives. They include:

• Organising youth camps and seminars for promoting Gandhian values and Sarvodaya activities
• Managing balwadis, a non-formal mode of imparting pre-primary education, where mid-day meals, milk, pick & drop and health check-ups are provided to students
• Imparting training to rural womenfolk in tailoring and embroidery
• Running a computer training centre
• Conducting eye camps and medical camps

Balwadis

The Jamanalal Bajaj Seva Trust has been instrumental in running and maintaining the Bal Sanskar Kendra and Balwadis at Wardha, to shape the lives of underprivileged children. Here, kids get a much needed opportunity to gain pre-primary education, develop skills through extracurricular activities, go for study tours and participate in recreational and outdoor activities. The trust also arranges for the pick-up and drop facilities to ensure safety of the kids.

Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha (JBGVS)

Established in 1987, the Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha (JBGVS) single-mindedly works towards bridging the divide between urban and rural India by focusing on integrated rural development activities. The Sanstha is currently involved in over 100 villages in Maharashtra and Rajasthan, through its various programs. The Sanstha, together with the villagers design programms which are more acceptable and effective in its implementation for rural development. This rural development work carried on by the organisation is aligned with the guidelines of the United Nations Millennium Development Goals.

The Jankidevi Bajaj Gram Vikas Sanstha (JBGVS) has five major focus areas namely; Economic Development, Education, Health & Hygiene, Social Development and Environmental Development, apart from Economic Independence, Social Welfare and Environment Protection.

Economic Development

• Imparting knowledge of modern, economic and organic agricultural practices through activities like demonstration plots, poly house farming, organic farming and mini irrigation
• Increasing the scope of animal husbandry and dairy farming in income generation.
• Nurturing young entrepreneurs by giving educational and training support in vocational activities.

Education

• Increasing adult literacy through 'each one, teach one' method where a school-going child teaches an illiterate older relative.
• Providing adequate infrastructure and teacher's training support to government run primary schools.
• Conducting informal programmes called Rural Education and Information Network (REIN), one-hour before or after school through senior boys and girls.

Health & Hygiene

• Supporting a government run comprehensive reproductive and child health programme for adolescent girls and expectant mothers.
• Organising periodic health checkups and immunization for anganwadi children.
• Actively assisting the Village Child Development Centre (VCDC).

Social Development

• Conducting panchayat raj training for elected members.
• Creating leadership opportunities through mahila melava, mahila mandal, self help groups, exposure visit etc.
• Conducting vocational training programmes, specifically for women and creating a fund for self help groups.

Environment Development

• Implementing government programmes and international projects for water and soil conservation.
• Educating people on waste water disposal measures like making of drainages and soak pits.
• Undertaking tree plantation.

Economic Independence in the Sikar district of Rajasthan

• Recruiting people from a socially disadvantaged background and ensuring there is no discrimination against them at the workplace.
• Repairing school buildings and construction of sports facilities at the Jamnalal Bajaj Senior Secondary School.
• Organising health check-up camps and HIV/AIDS awareness programmes.

Social Welfare conducted by the Samaj Seva Kendra (SSK)

• Short term courses like mehendi, rangoli, catering, glass painting, frame making, cloth painting etc. which enable women to explore their creative talent and earn.
• English medium nursery class where all-round development of kids, through extracurricular activities and competitions, is the prime motive.
• Music classes where kids are trained to play Indian musical instruments, as well as in classical and western dance

Environment Protection

• Participating actively in the Ministry of Corporate Affairs' Green Initiative for paperless compliance.

For more information on the Jamnalal Bajaj Seva Trust, visit the Jamnalal Bajaj Foundation website.