Sarvoday Saraswati Mandir

Sarvoday Saraswati Mandir roughly translates to "The temple for educating and uplifting everyone." The name speaks volumes about what the founders worked to establish. The core work of SSM is centered in helping children from disadvantaged backgrounds get a fair shot at earning an education.

The Sarvoday Saraswati Mandir institution is located in Babapur, Gujarat which is a state on the west coast of India. Babapur is a village in the Amreli district of Gujarat, and has a poputlation of 2180 people. Babapur proudly boasts a literacy rate of 82.9% (88.3% male, 77.5% female) which is higher than the Indian average of 78%. This a reflection of the work SSM has done over the past 75 years.

The grassroots educational model created at the SSM Ashram has been deployed to neighboring villages, expanding the high school network to a total of 15 schools in the past few decades.

Gunvantrai & Hasumati Purohit

It was their life's mission

Gunvantrai Purohit, lovingly called Dadaji (Gujarati for Grandfather), played a pivotal role in gaining India's freedom from British colonialism. His illustrious career included being a Freedom Fighter and a disciple of Mahatma Gandhi as well as advocating for the rights of veterans and those in lower social castes.

Hasumati Purohit, known to most in Babapur as Mota Ba "Respected Mother," made it her life's work to empower and educate women. Over her career as a teacher, principal and social worker she educated over 17,000 women and touched the lives of tens of thousands of children.

Hasumati and Gunvantrai Purohit were the "parents" of Sarvoday Saraswati Mandir for 70 years. They both left us in 2016 with amazing legacies and a lifetime of memories. Their work will live on through those still dedicating their lives to the goals of SSM.

The work started by Ba and Dadaji has been carried forward and built upon by their daughter Mandakini Purohit. She is currently the managing Trustee of SSM and has a very impressive track record of work done in her community.

ROADDS Foundation is committed to continuing to support Sarvoday Saraswati Mandir and the work that Purohit family started and continues to do.