History of Ashrama

Started in 1985, Ramakrishna Mission Ashrama, Narainpur, along with its six service centres inside Abujhmarh jungle villages of Chhattisgarh, has been serving the tribal brothers and sisters of the area who had been the mute victims of several centuries of oppression and utter neglect.

Abujhmarh has a tribal population of about 34,000 inhabiting some 233 far-flung villages over a sprawling area of 4,000 sq. km. It is described as a "tangled knot of hills" having terrain that remains cut off from the rest of the civilized world for about six months a year even to this day.

Narayanpur is the gateway to Abujhmarh Hills in Chhattisgarh. A marh (highlands) which is abujh (unknown) is Abujhmarh — true to its name, it continues to be a rather unknown and unsurveyed area surrounded by hills and dense forests.

The Hill Marias — categorised as a Particularly Vulnerable Tribal Group (PVTG) — live in an inaccessible geographical terrain. Their mainstay is slash-and-burn cultivation on steep hill slopes, supplemented by collection of forest produce. Literacy is very low; ill-health, malnutrition, and infant mortality remain challenges.

Swami Vivekananda called upon his countrymen to uplift the masses: "I consider that the great national sin is the neglect of the masses… They have been compelled to be merely hewers of wood and drawers of water for centuries."

Since its inception in 1985, the Ashrama has undertaken Tribal Welfare Services in a spirit of Service of God in Man, without distinctions of caste, creed, colour, sex, or religion — motivating the target group to develop self-confidence while preserving innate tribal culture.

With support from State and Central Government, charitable trusts, and well-wishers, the Mission serves 200+ villages through education, healthcare, agriculture training, and rural development.