SBBM Social Foundation & Vyenkatesh Ashram (Apno Se Dur…Ek Apna Ghar…)
The journey of SBBM Social Foundation and Vyenkatesh Ashram (Apno Se Dur…Ek Apna Ghar…) began with a strong belief that every human being,
especially the elderly, deserves dignity, care and respect. The Beginning…
I am socially committed individual from Maharashtra, saw the painful reality of many elderly people being left alone, ignored, or
struggling in poverty especially in rural areas. Deeply moved by their suffering, he decided to take action.
What started as small acts of kindness distributing food, helping elders get medical treatment and providing emotional support slowly grew
into a vision this vision was to create a permanent space where elderly people could live not in loneliness, but in peace, comfort, and community.
With great effort, personal sacrifice and years of struggle, Vyenkatesh Ashram was established in Mahuli under the banner of SBBM Social Foundation.
The Ashram was not built just with bricks and cement it was built with love, pain, blessings and hope.
This old age home started with only a few residents and very limited resources. But slowly, through community support and the tireless efforts
of Me (Ashvin Anjikar) and his team, Vyenkatesh Ashram grew into a safe haven for many senior citizens both men and women who had no
one else to care for them.
It all began not with a grand plan, but with a deep ache in the heart a silent prayer and an unwavering calling to serve.
In the quiet corners of life, where the elderly are forgotten, the poor go unheard, and the suffering remain unseen, I Ashvin Anjikar felt a restlessness that words could not explain. I had seen people in their final stages of life left to loneliness. I had witnessed those who had given their entire lives to society now abandoned by the very same. It broke something inside me.
It was in these moments of quiet despair that Vyenkatesh Ashram was born not out of resources or wealth,
but out of pure emotion, deep devotion, and a soul-level commitment to seva (service).
With no government grants, no big donations, and no promised support, we started with just faith in God, in humanity, and in love. One small room
became a shelter. One thali (plate) of food became a meal of dignity. One kind word became a reason for someone to smile again. Slowly, it wasn’t
just me anymore. The Ashram became a family. A home. A haven.
This ashram is not just a building it is a living, breathing emotion. Every brick holds a prayer. Every
room holds tears and laughter. Every person here is not a “case,” they are a soul, with a story, with pain, and with hope.
Some come here with broken hearts, some with empty stomachs, some with nothing left but they all leave with something: love.
We did not build this Ashram. Love did. Pain did. Purpose did. And through every sunrise and every shared meal, I feel that God Himself walks
among us in the form of those we serve.
This is the beginning of Vyenkatesh Ashram. And it is only the beginning…
"This journey has never been easy. There were days of struggle, tears and doubt. But the blessings and smiles of our elders gave me the strength
to keep going. Vyenkatesh Ashram is my dream and my duty a home where no one feels forgotten.”
When people ask me why I started Vyenkatesh Ashram, I often struggle to answer with logic because this journey was never about logic. It was about
pain. About love. About a quiet voice inside me that refused to be silent.
I have always believed that true service does not come from abundance. It comes from emptiness the kind you feel when you see someone suffer, and
your heart bleeds with them. That emptiness became the space where this Ashram was born.
There were no big funds, no land and no guarantees. Just a simple decision: “I will not look away.”
I saw old men left alone on streets…
I saw widows with no food, no shelter, no hope…
I saw children broken by trauma, rejected by the world…
And I thought, “If not me, then who?”
Vyenkatesh Ashram is not just a place. It is my soul laid bare. Every person who walks in becomes part of this journey. We cry together, laugh
together and heal together. And sometimes, we simply sit in silence and that too becomes a prayer.
People think social work is about giving. But I’ve learned that it’s more about receiving wisdom from the elderly, courage from the wounded,
and grace from the smallest acts of kindness.
I don’t know where this path will lead. But I know this: As long as there is suffering, I will walk. As long as there is pain, I will serve.
And as long as I have breath, this Ashram will stand not as a charity, but as a home built on unconditional love.
This is not my work. It is my worship….
This is not my success. It is my surrender….
—Ashvin Anjikar