CHARITABLE AND SOCIAL SERVICES
The Davis Family Trust, in partnership with The Rotary Club of Ranchi North has been proactive and energetic in providing charitable and social welfare assistance to the local community. Mrs. Aleyamma B. Davis served as the president of the club from 1991 to 1995. The members of the trust and Davis Institute staff have been leaders in the Rotary Club Ranchi North for many years. Dr Milind Borde served as the President from 1995 to 1997 and again from 2002 to 2003. Mr. P.M. Eapen who was a member of the staff of the Davis Institute of Neuropsychiatry for many years served as the Rotary Club President from 1998 to 1999. Mrs. Hazel Davis served as the President from 2004 to 2005. Dr Elizabeth Davis served as the president from 2012 to 2014.The meetings of the Rotary club are held in the premises of the Davis Institute of Neuropsychiatry and all the Davis Institute staff and infrastructure are used to support the club in every possible way. Most of the funds for all the Community Service activities of the club have been raised by the Davis Family Trust.
The Davis Family Trust has been involved in various charitable activities over the last 20 years. Some examples of our projects, which we do in conjunction with Rotary Club of Ranchi North are school programs, charitable donations to needy people, health camps and village welfare and upliftment activities. We run regular health camps in poor areas. These include immunisation clinics for children, diabetes screening clinics and regular health camps in deprived communities, to identify children with physical handicaps and arrange free treatment for them. We have run immunisation clinics for many years for the local population. We have run suicide prevention workshops. We have empowered poor women to start cottage industries such as preserving and pickling. We outreach to the local schools and provide school counselling services, have built toilet blocks in schools that did not have one, and have sponsored needy girls to go to school and obtain further education. We sponsor local football tournaments for deprived children. We have provided solar lighting for about 100 homes that had no power. We have distributed free fruit tree saplings for planting in the local villages. We have advocated with the government to provide adequate homes for about 100 homeless families. In winter, we distribute blankets to street people who are freezing. We also provide donations of money, vegetables, and provisions for local homeless shelters and orphanages.
The Davis Family Trust has been heavily involved in supporting and running the International Library & Cultural Centre. This is the best public library in Ranchi. The British Council started a Library in Ranchi in 1963 on Club Road opposite the Gossner College. This became a favourite haunt of students and intellectuals and became a prominent landmark of the town. Unfortunately the British Council decided to close it down in 1995 due to reduction in funding. This would have been a great loss to Ranchi students and academics. After lengthy negotiations they agreed to hand over the assets of the library to a charitable trust. The International Library & Cultural Centre (IICL) Trust was formed in 1995 and has been running the library successfully since then. Mrs. A.B. Davis took the lead in forming the Trust and was Managing Trustee till her death in 2004. From 2005 onwards, Dr Milind Borde has been the Managing Trustee of the Library and the Deputy Managing Trustees are Mrs. Hazel Davis and Mrs. Jyoti Bajaj.
Supported by the Davis Institute of Neuropsychiatry (Later the Davis Family Trust) ,the book section has been expanded and the Library has over 30,000 books on all topics. Besides Library Services the ILCC also conducts cultural activities. It organizes competitions for school and college students. These include Inter School Skit Competitions, Debates, Elocution Competitions, Spelling Competitions, Dumb Charades, Plays etc. We recently produced two Hindi play “Preet Parai” and “Tha Tha Thaiya” which ran very successfully in Ranchi and were very well received. Talks and panel discussions on a wide variety of topics are also organized. Recently, ILCC has had panel discussions on global warming, human rights and women’s issues. It has started a Film Appreciation Wing which is very successful. It has had a film festival of classic American movies in association with the American Centre, Kolkata. It has also screened several award winning films and documentaries. Regular French classes and German classes are conducted in the library. There are also classes on spoken English and special English coaching classes for local underprivileged children. It holds music and dance classes.
ILCC manages all these activities on the membership charges of only Rs 850.00 per year and on donations from friends and well-wishers. Organizations such as the Davis Family Trust, Rotary Club of Ranchi North and other service minded organizations also help ILCC. In 1997 Rotary Clubs donated Rs 8,40,000.00 to purchase new books, computers, a photocopier, and other equipment.
In the past 4 years the Davis Family Trust in association with the Rotary Club of Ranchi North has raised over Rs 7,00,000.00 for the library. It would not be possible to run the library without the support of the Davis Family Trust.
The ILCC library is a place where “Dreams Come True”. The success of the library has enabled students and readers to make at least some of their dreams come true. It is rewarding to see the smiles on the faces of the readers, and know that the ILCC is making a valuable contribution towards the culture and education of the young people of Ranchi.