More than two decades ago when Swami Sarvadevananda was posted at Ramakrishna Math & Mission – Sikra-Kulingram, he came across with various voluntary social and spiritual organizations in the Sundarbans and other remote areas of the North 24 Parganas District in West Bengal. A few enthusiastic young teachers received great inspiration by coming in contact of the Ramakrishna Mission Sadhus and attending the Annual Youth Camps of the Vivekananda Yuva Maha Mandal to build their own character, as well as the character of the men, women, and youth of their localities by forming small groups. The poverty, unemployment, helplessness, misery of women, etc. of that geographic area touched their souls to a great extent. Hence, they started to work for their upliftment.

Swami Divyananda of the Ramakrishna Order contacted them, inspired them, and helped them to organize such groups for the proper social, economical,cultural and educational upliftment in the humanitarian ground in the light of spiritual development in the spirit of Ramakrishna order inspired by Swami Vivekananda. Swami Sarvadevananda, while at Sikra Math, Sikra-Kulin Gram, North 24 Parganas visited these places with the local teachers and professors from Basirhat and first started conducting lectures on spirituality. Thereafter, from 1994, through an informal group of devotees and followers of Sri Ramakrishna, amongst whom late Shyamapada Mitra (Kanchan) was the leader, continued to help these organizations dedicated for the betterment of the society. Gradually the work had been spread over in different remote areas of other district of W.B. This work impacted positively on the lives of the residents for a decade, without any official name or organization.

Over the years the Vivekananda Foundation has over the years build a network of NGO’s located in the various down trodden and under- developed ares of the West Bengal India. Currently there are around 14 other NGOs in their