It was an incident that brought about the idea of establishing ‘Adarsh Seva Sansthan’ with a committed effort for the betterment of the slum dwellers situated around the brick-kiln areas of Swarnarekha river side in the outskirts of Jamshedpur industrial city. While returning to house after completing the job at school, Mrs.Prabha Jayaswal, teacher and social worker then president of Shramjivi Unnayan (NGO) saw an old lady lying with unbearable pain on the road after being seriously injured with an accident. None of the passerby took the risk of helping her, Mrs. Jayaswal then offered to drop her and escorted immediately to her house, which was in a nearby basti (slum). As soon as Mrs. Jayaswal entered the basti area, she was surprised and appalled to see the unjust and unhygienic condition of that dwelling. The single-roomed houses were barely 3 ft. in height and one can’t imagine at once and call it as a ‘house’ for human being. The roads were very narrow and garbage was thrown here and there which was stinking. badly. The children were wearing dirty and torn clothes and even some were without clothes. At house, the old woman didn’t possess utensils, not even a glass to offer someone water. Poverty and squalor were evident altogether. Mrs. Jayaswal was awestruck to see the whole picture of the basti, the people were absolutely ignorant of the outside world around them. Thus, an accident of an old woman became an incident for Mrs. Jayaswal that turned her to do something for the betterment of the people living in slum areas of brick-kilns in Jamshedpur.
Mrs. Jayaswal shared her feelings and experience to some like-minded individuals and bosom friends to intervene in these slums and thus ASES (from Hindi Literature, ‘means to reach’) an effort was brought about by this group of social activists with a mission to transform the lives of people living in ignorance and fringe of subsistence. In that way, the birth of ‘ASES’ or ‘Adarsh Seva Sansthan’ is cumulative effort of a group of dedicated people who were kindled by a desire to do something for the poor and neglected, came together to achieve the dream which would have otherwise remained as a dream forever. At the initial stage, ASES (to reach) or Adarsh Seva Sansthan got moral, professional and financial support from many NGOs and individuals for the upliftment of migrant labourers of brick-kiln dwellings. Finally, the group with the continued inspirational effort of Mrs. Jayswal founded a unit with the name of ‘Adarsh Seva Sansthan’ at Sonari, Adarsh Nagar, Jamshedpur on 22nd March 1987 with the main objective to make the brick-kiln labourers aware of other ways of living and gradually bring them into the mainstream; secondly, to organize them and to enable themselves to fight against exploitation by the brick-kiln owners.
The name ‘Adarsh Seva Sansthan’ is a combination of the terms viz. ‘Adarsh’, ‘Seva’ and ‘Sansthan’ from hindi literature- ‘Adarsh’ means ideal, theoretical and standard of perfection or model which is ideally perfect, ‘Seva’ means to serve and ‘Sansthan’ is an institution, society or organization of people or group. Hence, the name ‘Adarsh Seva Sansthan’ literally means the Institution or Society which provides ideally perfect kind of services with right based approach for qualitative change among and within the underprivileged, needy, marginalized, exploited and vulnerable poor sections of the society. The institution, Adarsh Seva Sansthan (ASES) got registered itself as an autonomous and independent non-sectarian, non-political, non-profitable, non-government and humanitarian social society or unit under Societies Registration Act XXI, 1860 in 1991 with clear-cut socio-economic objectives for the development of the people, by the people and for the people. The organization has also registered under Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA), 1976 on 24th Jan 2005 (Registration No. 337820013).
Adarsh Seva Sansthan as a social society aims to:
- Promote informal, formal and vocational education.
- Promote activities of socio-economic development in the unorganized labour sector.
- Promote and achieve all round development of weaker sections of the society.
- Disseminate legal knowledge and information, to build up awareness among common mass for their rights as well as their duties.
- Assist, advice, support and make active poor people towards their legal rights and to achieve this objective to adopt their cases individual or public interest.
- Promote family welfare by organizing family dispute conciliation platforms.
- Disseminate socio legal information through puppets, theatre, posters or through any other method of audio visuals.
- To organize medical camps for the weaker sections.
- Establish hostels for working women, destitute, orphans etc.
- Establish hostels for poor children with school facility and with facility of vocational training as well.
- Organize socio-cultural activities for cultural and social development.
- Organize economic generation programmes for betterment of poor people.
- Establish cheap kitchens for people in need.
- Establish small industries for economic betterment of youth.
- Do all or any deed, action or thing for physical, mental and spiritual upliftment of people.
- Undertake education training and other programmes for protecting and pursuing the socio-economic, legal, cultural, intellectual and spiritual aspects of people.
- Undertake, promote and develop schemes for ecology and environment inclusive of protection of forests.
- Promote afforestation for the environmental protection.
- Undertake, promote and sponsor all activities for protecting and furthering the interests of disadvantaged groups of people such as women, children, social, racial, ethnic minorities, prisoners, under trials, landless labourers and for protection of public health, safety, medicine and environment.
- Undertake, initiate, conduct, carry on, sponsor and support any educational research, documentation and dissemination of information and any other programme related to conservation of natural resources, protection and improvement of environment, prevention of hazards to human beings of other living creatures, plants and animals.
- Initiate, conduct, carry on, sponsor and support research in social sciences.
- Amalgamate or merge with any or more of the societies, public charitable trust of non-profit companies having the same or similar objects as that of the Sansthan on such terms and conditions as may be in the best interest of the society and the locality.