Being socially and environmentally conscious, Rajendra has spent his life serving others and exhorts everyone to make a positive difference in the world in some capacity.

Rajendra Gamath is the Director of Mahan Seva Sansthan, an NGO working for children’s education and rights, the development of children and women, the environment, and public health and cleanliness.

Rajendra belongs to a small village in a remote area of Udaipur district. He has been devotedly working with the Mahan Seva Sansthan for the past 32 years. The organization has successfully worked in almost 423 villages in Udaipur, Dungarpur, and Banswara. Mahan Seva Sansthan was founded in 1989 to provide good education and facilities to needy children and enable them to lead a happy and satisfying life.

Rajendra shares that his father owned a shop in the village, and he used to help him with his business. But later, due to his father’s sudden illness, all the family responsibilities shifted to him, as he is the eldest of his siblings. He did a few private jobs before taking up teaching. When he started teaching at a private school in his village, he liked the respect he earned and developed an interest in the teaching profession. Due to his appreciable and honest work, he was entrusted with all the school responsibilities. Thus, with the villagers’ trust and support, he reoriented the institution and founded the New Mandir Bal Vidyalaya. Subsequently, he completed an MA in sociology and completely devoted himself to social service.

As the organization worked, Rajendra and his team gained experience and support from the people, the government, private agencies, etc. Working in the education sector opened his eyes to the reality of the rural masses. For them, the need for a livelihood and the means to earn money are more important than education. This encouraged him to extend his organization’s approach, and thus he divided the services into four main areas. Children’s education, child rights, and development; health, education, and cleanliness; women’s development and Panchayati Raj; and providing natural resources for strengthening livelihoods.

Rajendra shares that since he gained an understanding of the world, he has been serving society. He believes that everyone should contribute in some way to the welfare of society, but only if they are willing to do so and do so with transparency and zero self-interest. The amount or length of the service doesn’t matter; what matters is a clear conscience and the will to give back to society, people, and the environment.

Rajendra says that Bal Panchayat was one of the initiatives taken by his organization to support and promote the natural development of children. During the program, the children were allowed to participate in sports activities, art and crafts, education, health, or anything else of their interest. He felt happy to see the children enjoying themselves and mingling with each other and their parents.

According to Rajendra, education and experience are equally important, and one needs to have both to do good work for a long time. Furthermore, he adds that transparency, equal participation, and a friendly approach are followed in his organization. Everyone has a say in the plans and schemes, as openness creates innovation. Thus, he believes in this all-inclusive way of working and credits it for the successful journey of his organization.