The Radha Kaliandas Daryanani Charitable Trust (RKDCT) a registered Trust under the Bombay Public Trust Act of 1950 had initiated Sai Baba Seva Dham, an Integrated Rural Development Project was launched in April 1991 by His Excellency Shri C Subramaniam, the then Governor of Maharashtra. To address the needs of the poor and the most vulnerable segments of rural society is “to develop and empower self-reliance among the people”. he said.
Inauguration of Sai Baba Seva Dham
Another milestone in the nascent years of Project Sai Baba Seva Dham was on 22 June 1993 at the Raj Bhuvan, Mumbai where His Excellency Dr P C Alexander, Governor of Maharashtra in a symbolic function at Raj Bhuvan distributed the keys of the buildings at Sai Baba Seva Dham to the first batch of participating NGOs to start their activities with rural children..
Two years later on 3rd August 1995 was a red letter day for Sai Baba Seva Dham when Governor PC Alexander and his wife Mrs Ackama Alexander visited Sai Baba Seva Dham, Kanhe. The Integrated rural development project which was considered the first of its kind in India with the aim to uplift the rural Poor.
Profile of Sai Baba Seva Dham
The Vision of the Trust is Belief in “Service of Humanity”.
Sai Baba Seva Dham Project, was developed in keeping with the belief of Sai Baba for ‘Service to Humanity’. and is based on the concept of Self-Reliance, Self-Sufficiency, Self-Help and Self-Respect .
The mission of the project is to assist the rural poor, disabled with the objective of providing comprehensive services for overall rehabilitation of the rural marginalized groups; disabled, underprivileged women and children, to prevent disability, to promote awareness and community education through the different NGOs who were then located at Sai Baba Seva Dham
The 15 acre campus was built for various social purposes, fulfilling the needs of children who are destitute or orphans, by providing residential care, schooling, and vocational training. The infrastructure at SBSD was made suitable for the multiple handicapped, like the blind and for their special schooling and other needs. An existing building at the site addressed the schooling needs of the local mentally challenged children. A well conceived captive water supply scheme directly drawing water from the nearby Indrani River and a meticulously laid out electrification and sanitation plan, lend the campus for future expansion
Over the past two decades, and more the SBSD had through its many social initiatives and with the many NGOs who had worked on site, created a social awareness on matters of care and education of the physically challenged, as much as for the education and rehabilitation of the girl child in particular. A 30 bedded hospital with an operation theatre had addressed the health requirements of the local rural and semi urban population had been a great contributor towards the health services of the local population of approximately three lakhs residing in 287 villages of Maval in the vicinity of the campus. Some of the NGOs who left their foot prints on Sai Baba Seva Dham campus. Add to this, was the multi-faceted social support to this rural environment, provided by Sai Baba Seva Dham by way of facilities for social functions, celebration of festivals, place for pilgrims the palkhis and varkaris on yatra to rest, community meetings as well as outreach programmes for women’s empowerment, local government functionaries to hold meetings. The flagship outreach programme had been the scholarship program reaching out to about fifty schools in collaboration with other educational trusts, resulting in SBSD making a mark in the social fabric of the local populace.