Village of Love – Uplifting Women in Rural India

The Village of Love is a nonprofit organization that helps provide goods, services, and resources for women and children in Mayapur, India, the international headquarters for ISKCON. The organization was inaugurated during the ISKCON Vaishnavi Ministry Sanga, led by Radha Devi Dasi, GBC Vaishnavi Minister, and held in Mayapur, India, earlier this year. 

The founder of the Village of Love, Sri Radha Govinda Dasi, saw the urgency for helping deprived women in India to become uplifted and empowered. She also recognized that the lack of care in their developmental years could adversely impact a young woman’s entire life. Therefore, she has made it her mission to help women, children, and students worldwide find themselves through spiritual education.

The organization seeks to “offer women and their children the dignity, empowerment, support, and spiritual nourishment for them to become the best they can.” It also aims to be an example of uplifting and promoting Vaishnavi activities. With the help of a team of volunteers, Sri Radha Govinda Dasi strives to make a difference in the lives of the women she contacts. 

During the inauguration of the new initiative, powerful Vaishnavi speakers, kirtan, dance performances, and interactive sessions were offered to all the guests. In addition, the Village of Love distributed awards to notable Vaishnavis, specifically to illuminate their contributions to the worldwide ISKCON movement, which the organization notes is often unnoticed. Two of the award recipients were Dr. Nitaisevini Devi Dasi and Shiromani Devi Dasi. Dr. Nitaisevani joined ISKCON as a full-time devotee in 1997. She is a school principal, active in college preaching, and assists in managing a temple; alongside her husband, Samba Das, President of ISKCON Visakhapatnam in South India. She was honored for her many preaching efforts. The second recipient, Shiromani Devi Dasi, was raised in Kuwait; she came to Manipal, India, to study medicine. While at the University, she was introduced to ISKCON. She was honored at the event for her service, including youth preaching and the successful devotee marriages of about fifty couples. Shiromani Devi Dasi expressed her heartfelt gratitude to the event organizers and really appreciated that more women, the “silent soldiers” of the ISKCON movement, were being recognized.

For more information visit: https://www.gaurafoundation.org/