Post Updates ❯ Panchavadi

Panchavadi - A Holistic Community Development Project

To give concrete shape and form to the dreams of the founder, the Managing Committee of Mahila Mandiram bought 8 acres of land at Vaaliyara, in Vellanadu Panchayath, (17 kms from Trivandrum) for a mega project. It is called PANCHAVADI – named after the five trees alluded in the great epic ‘Ramayana’ – giving shelter and solace to the needy. It consists five components, VATSALYA (Mother’s Love), SANTHWANA (Solace), SUSIKSHA (Education), PARIRAKSHA (Healthcare), and PRASANTHI (Peace).

The foundation stone of the project was laid on 5th January 2003 by Hon. Minister Sri. O. Rajagopal at Panchavadi. In 2003 a tailoring course was conducted at Panchavadi with the help of Janashikshan Sansthan. Income generating activities and medicinal plant cultivation were initiated for the local women.

Vatsalya a group of homes for the needy children was the first unit to be developed. Institutional care often fails to fill the emotional needs of growing children. Vatsalya is the answer to this deficiency. When finished it will comprise 5 cottages of 1800 sq.ft. Each cottage with a comfortable living standard for a family of 10 –12 children from infants to adolescents, with a care giver ‘Mother’ who is a trained social worker. A psychologist will give guidance and counseling to the mothers as well as residents. This is conceived to give the much-needed family atmosphere to the deprived child. The goal of such an up-bringing is to give her a secure and nurturing environment and make her confident and self reliant. The natural bond of the child with her relatives is not severed. They visit her once a month and take her home during special occasions.

The first cottage of Vatsalya was started in the existing building in Panchavadi with 6 girls and their ‘mother’. The House of TATA TEA partly sponsored the construction of the first cottage at Vatsalya. in January 2009 and the second by LIC Golden Jubilee foundation in 2013. Now there are 21 girls accommodated in the two houses.