Bodhi Shuddhaanandaa addressing the Self-help groups at Dulduli Project of Lokenath Divine Life Mission. Bodhi Shuddhaanandaa feels that the mission’s aim should be to ‘build people’, people who don’t only earn millions for themselves, people who do not live life only for their own selves, people who don’t only dream about their own small families. He wants to develop individuals who would care for each other, who would help each other in times of distress. “My heart swells in happiness when I hear of stories of true service to human dignity. This is my philosophy, to prepare the people to live and die for each other.” Bodhi Shuddhaanandaa.
At present the mission is also responsible for developing almost 500 self-help groups (SHG) in the villages of Sundarbans that benefit more than 5,000 families. In each group there are around ten female members and a joint bank account of the group. The Mission works as a catalyst, helps the villagers to form a group, to open bank accounts, to get loans from the bank for developing business, agriculture, animal husbandry, pisciculture, handicrafts, or to meet social commitments like marriage or for other emergencies. This whole procedure has helped the villagers in becoming more self reliant and self-sufficient. As the SHGs of an area become self-sufficient, the Mission shifts the activities to other areas. For this reason there was a time when the Mission used to handle 1500 SHGs all over Sunderbans. Now Mission is working with 402 groups and in future the numbers may change further.
Vocational Training Centered in various areas like Dulduli, Charalkhali, Kanai khathi, Bijaynagar, the mission has also set up vocational training institutes to train the villagers about Stitching, Wool weaving and Crochet work.
The women of the village, after receiving training in these subjects, produce garments that are marketed to Kolkata by the mission again. This way they are able to earn around 2000-2500 INR per month.
EnvironmentalPRESERVATION
The same way research is done on ways to do organic farming and cultivation in the lands of the mission to pass on the knowledge acquired to villagers.The Mission speaks to the villagers to make them believe that organic farming will produce better products and better taste than the one produced of chemical fertilizers. The Mission also makes the Urban and the Rural people aware of the ill effect of the vegetables and crops produced by the help of chemical fertilizers.
Mission noticed that the urban food habits have changed during last 10 years. People have become habituated in having frozen food, modern packed snacks, and fast food containing ajinomoto, the taste enhancer and other chemicals, salt and even pesticides used as preservatives. To make the food attractive, chemical colours, not at all permitted for human use, are applied in snack foods and sweets in the market. These are dangerous for our health.