Date:08/02/2004 URL: http://www.thehindu.com/2004/02/08/stories/2004020812590300.htm

Karnataka - Bangalore

Fifty years of fruitful service to society

By Our Special Correspondent

BANGALORE, FEB. 7. The Jayanagar Sthree Samaja Trust, which completed 50 years of fruitful work on Saturday, has over the years widened the horizons of thousands of women in Bangalore South.

The organisation took birth when women's empowerment was seldom talked about.

In 1954, in the brand new suburb of Jayanagar, the samaja thought women could have roles going beyond the traditional kitchen. Tailoring classes were started first and they attracted a number of women.

Taking this idea one step further, classes were started in cooking more nutritious food with the help of experts from institutions such as the University of Agricultural Sciences. Classes in art and music followed.

As Bangalore grew to become a major industrial and business centre, more young women began coming to the city for work.

The samaja noticed their difficulties in getting good food and safe and affordable accommodation.

What could be among the first hostels for working women was set up in a rented building. Later, with the help of the Karnataka Government and generous donors, a building was constructed for the hostel.

It now accommodates 50 working women.

The attention of the samaja then turned to the plight of children in the rural areas around the city, who lacked opportunities for education.

The women pooled resources to establish a school in Gerupalya, 20 km. away, and named it Vidya Vikasa Kendra.

The school now has 340 students, from nursery up to Class VII. Education, uniforms, and textbooks are provided free.

A new school building is coming up at an estimated cost of Rs. 28 lakh. When the year 1999 was celebrated as the International Year of the Aged, the samaja decided to set up a home for senior citizens.

The home named Sandhya Sanjivini which has now come up near the Gerupalya school, accommodates 24 senior citizens without any difference in caste, community, and gender.

The aim now is to increase the accommodation to house 50 elders, the samaja members said.