October was a month of smiles, stories, and service for the Rural Development Institute (RDI). From the serene hills of Kalsi to the fertile plains of Haridwar, RDI teams reached out to mothers, children, and communities with a shared purpose — to nurture health, hope, and happiness. Each visit, each camp, and each conversation brought … Lighting Lives Beyond Diwali: RDI’s October Diaries
“Selfless service is such an exact prayer that nobody can deny.” Swami Rama’s first and last project: Dr. Swami Rama, after demonstrating his scientific experiments in USA, set up his first teaching center at Glenview, Illinois 50 years back. This seed flowered into his full fledged Institute @ the Pocono mountains in Pennsylvania. His most … RDI Founder’s Day (20-21 September 2025)
Learnings from previous programs… Rural Development Institute (RDI) was founded in 1990 by Dr. H.H. Dr. Swami Rama under Himalayan Institute Hospital Trust as the first operational unit to provide services to the rural communities in Uttarakhand and other Himalayan States. The Institute celebrates its Foundation Day every year on 20th – 21st September. This … RDI Foundation Day
It was 2011. We had just successfully conducted years of adolescent girls program through 891 anganwadi centers in three hill districts of Uttarakhand. I had signed up to conduct my first Silence retreat for others at Sadhana Mandir ashram by the Ganges. The opening session was to be at 5pm. That afternoon, received a frantic … Full Circle
Inclusion of people with disability as the otherwise not so thought of group is a difficult yet no so difficult task! It’s difficult because they are not considered as part of mainstream development and it is not so difficult because it only takes a thought to make them part of mainstream development. The challenges faced … Paving way for inclusion
Territorially Uttarakhand is often represented in two different zones i.e. Garhwal & Kumaun. But, this hill-dominant state which apparently seems to be small is actually quite vivid and has too much diversity in its cultures, traditions, dialects, etc. Hence, the quench to know more about Uttarakhand especially the 5 tribes, i.e. Bhotiyas, Thaurs, Buxa, Jaunsaries, … Uttarakhand Diaries
In August 1992, Swami Rama, as Founder President, penned the proposal titled ‘An integrated Primary health care/Rural Development project for the mountainous Garhwal and Kumaon region of Uttaranchal India’ which became a guide for us. The purpose of the proposal to establish and evaluate demonstration village health and social development project in the rural mountain … In Service
