“If we are going to see real development in the world then our best investment is women.”
Let girls learn
The Ladakchand Manekchand Vora College for Girls celebrated its 10thanniversary in grand style on 8 thJuly in the Ashram grounds. A marquee to accommodate approximately a 1000 guests was erected to accommodate guests and mumuxus. Over 1400 guests attended the event, which included –invited guests, past and current students from the college and the ashram mumuxus.
Ladakhchand Manekchand Vora, the founder and the first Spiritual Head of Raj Saubhag Satsang Mandal, had tremendous vision to see girls from Sayla education at the highest level. This remained a vision during his lifetime however Param Pujya Bhaishree, the current spiritual head of Raj Saubhag, realised this dream.
Sayla is a typical small Indian village where the mindsets of parents meant girls would be withdrawn from School at the age of around 12 and these children would then assist with domestic chores. These girls would be married in their mid-teens and start bearing children during their late teens.
In 1997, there were only a handful of girls going to High School. However, mammoth initiatives and efforts undertaken by Bhaishree brought about a decisive shift in the attitudes of parents and the community at large to move away from such outdated ideas and customs and girls are now being given the opportunity to study to their full potential. By 2007, there was hardly a household in Sayla whose daughters had not attended the high school established by Raj Saubhag.
In that year, LMV Girls College for Commerce and Arts started with 20 girls in the first year BA course. Today there are 419 girls enrolled in the collegepursuing the three year degree course. The examination results have been astounding. In the first few years, the results were almost 100% and then as enrolment grew these results dipped to just over 90%. With much larger number of girls attending the course, the results have dropped to just over 65% in the last two years which remains notably better than the State average.
Shree Raghuvir Chaudhri, a prominent Gujarati literary scholar and the winner of the Gyan Pith National Award was standing in place of the Vice Chancellor of the University of Saurashtra who was unable to attend due to ill health.
Many of the girls who graduated from the college are in good income generating jobs such as teachers, nurses, civil servants and some with their own businesses. Not only have they secured a bright future for themselves but also for their current and future families and are laying foundations for a literate society to help with nation building.
The girls pay a minimum amount as fees with the rest of their expenses subsidised through the sponsorship program run by Raj Saubhag.
Sayla is one of the very few villages in India which can boast of its own Science and Mathematics museum. Over 5,000 children visit the museum annually.
Raj Saubhag is considering establishing a Science College for Girls in Sayla so that a wider choice of further education is available to girls.
For further information on sponsoring schemes for girls at school or at the college or other humanitarian activities run by the ashram please contact:
jaysukhmehta@gmail.com
shilpajasani@hotmail.com
