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About Us

Dr. M. Aram
Founder President, Shanti Ashram
Former Member of Parliament, Rajya Sabha

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'Shanti Ashram is a creative laboratory where the problems faced by our communities can be both identified and provided with constructive solutions. Our spiritual motivation inspires us to be engaged in social action'.

  • For the past 30 years, Shanti Ashram has been accompanying communities and individuals in their efforts to move out of poverty, address inequalities, build creative leaders and ensure sustained development. Through a commitment to constructive social action, the Ashram strives to serve as a catalyst to empower the different sections of rural communities, and the society at large.

  • Inspired by Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Sarvodaya, the Ashram was founded in 1986 by Dr. Aram and Mrs. Minoti Aram, along with fellow Gandhians. Locally, our work touches the lives of nearly 250,000 people today in the immediate service area. Standing alongside this service outreach is our collaborative work with over 215 institutions global and local. They are committed members of the partnership platform established as part of the silver jubilee celebrations of Shanti Ashram.

Shanti Ashram’s work finds expression today through:

Three specialized programme divisions

  • Bala Shanti Programme for vulnerable children
  • Sustainable Development Programme
  • Youth Leadership Programme

Two center’s of excellence

  • Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Peace, Leadership and Development (MGIPLD)
  • International Center for Child and Public Health (ICPH)

Sarvodaya

  • A Consortium for empowering women through entrepreneurship,
    poverty alleviation and collective action.

The Ashram’s innovative ‘Development Practice’ draws on this particular but integrated implementing architecture. It has also led to closer and meaningful interactions with people, communities, institutions and governments. Shanti Ashram has a dedicated full-time staff of 50 people and a five member executive team. Over 200 volunteers enthusiastically contribute to our work on a regular basis.

Two center's of excellence

The center’s of excellence complement the work of the programme divisions.

  • Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Peace, Leadership and Development (MGIPLD)

    The Mahatma Gandhi Institute for Peace, Leadership and Development was the Ashram’s Silver Jubilee dedication to the community. The vision of the institute is to realize the spirit of Mahatma Gandhi and contribute to developing leadership capacities amongst young students and professionals by academic collaborations, inter-generational ideation and re-imagined partnerships. Over 128 academic institutions work with Shanti Ashram today.

  • The International Center for Child and Public Health (ICPH)

    ICPH is an Innovative model for integrating primary care with public health, where the best of global knowledge steers our comprehensive interventions for children.

Sarvodaya

A Consortium for empowering women through entrepreneurship, poverty alleviation and collective action. Two significant outcome of the path breaking work of the Gandhian movement in general and Shanti Ashram in particular is the empowerment of rural women & recognition of the critical role women have in shaping society’s present & the future. This creative consortium co-developed with rural women, development organizations and donors, financial institutions & business schools has been collaborating to work for women’s entrepreneurship, poverty alleviation and collective action. On ground 86 entrepreneurs spread across 23 villages form part of the consortium.

Global Problems - Local Solutions
  • What we do through our programmes?

    All our projects, ongoing programmes and centers of excellence

    • Enhance human capacities
    • Encourage concrete action
    • Establish partnerships.

5 key aspects of the Ashram’s development practice, in synergy, which we believe, has led to success includes:

  • Our ‘value base’ that centre’s around Mahatma Gandhi’s vision of Sarvodaya
  • A ‘problem solving’ approach co-created with peoples participation
  • Linking of ‘theory and practice’ and the evolution of a dynamic praxis
  • Creative thinking and consistent contribution to the ‘common good’
  • Convening power from the local to the global

Along this three decade journey, the dedicated team at Shanti Ashram has always taken the time to pause and reflect on the impact of our development practice, the new frontiers we continue to explore with our partner organizations and to celebrate the inspiring stories of change that our women, youth and children share with us in our everyday encounters.

Our service, knowledge & policy outreach provides a template to visualize our future direction. At the heart of this dedication is our complete commitment to active peace-building, being and becoming ‘Instruments for Peace’ as St. Francis of Assisi referred to in his prayer.

ICPH Partners