LEGACY HISTORY
Gandhi Worldwide has embarked on an ambitious multi-pronged program to help eradicate the scourge of poverty and human degradation. Gandhi said: “Poverty is the worse form of violence,” and must be tackled on all fronts to ensure human rights and human dignity to those who are victims of societal exploitation.
The priority of the Institute is to rescue children from the poorest sections of Indian society who are the first to become victims of criminal gangs; the second priority is to build an institution that serves as a shelter as well as a learning institution where the rescued children will receive basic education.
Legacy Mission
In May of 2008, the Institute was founded in the United States by Arun Gandhi, grandson of M.K. Gandhi, to promote community building in economically depressed areas of the world through the joining of Gandhian philosophy and vocational education for children and their parents.
Arun and his late wife, Sunanda, spent almost 30 years in India working with friends to help the oppressed and abandoned children, utilizing Gandhi’s philosophy of SARVODAYA — the Welfare of All Citizens. They rescued and found homes for hundreds of abandoned children and developed several economic programs that successfully changed the lives of thousands of impoverished people.
Legacy Guiding Principles
The fabric of our vision is woven with the threads of three fundamental principles –
* SARVODAYA – Our vision is to create communities with a foundation rooted in “the welfare of all.” Sarvodaya promotes self-determination and equality of all individuals regardless of their socioeconomic status.
* WIDE EDUCATIONAL FOCUS – Our vision is to promote both economic self-reliance and spiritual uplift through educational programs that encompass both practical vocational training as well as Gandhian philosophic teachings to better the mind and spirit.
* A FAMILY’S INVOLVEMENT – Our vision also incorporates the ancient proverb that “It takes a village to raise a child.” The successful education of a child can only be achieved in part through an understanding of the importance of parental involvement, and involvement of the community in which that child is cultivated. Due consideration to the negative impacts of parental non-involvement is of equal importance.
Thank you to all who gave so generously!
