The Welbedacht-based Sarva Dharma Ashram has recently been mentioned in a research article penned by Masters graduate, Yashna Gurcharan, following her experience at the centre.
Gurcharan reminisced upon her journey and how it all began. “Having completed a Bachelor of Child and Youth Development degree in 2017 at the Durban University of Technology, I decided to further my studies and apply for a Master of Health Science degree at the same university in 2018. My supervisor, Professor R Bhagwan, and I decided to explore the role of one faith-based organisation in South Africa and settled on researching the Sarva Dharma Ashram in Welbedacht,” she said.
After obtaining ethical clearance from the DUT’s Institutional Research Ethics Committee (IREC) and permission to conduct research from Swami Ramkripananda from the ashram, her research journey began. Gurcharan said: “After completing my Master of Health Science degree, my co-author, Bhagwan, and I recently published a research article entitled ‘The Role of the Sarva Dharma Ashram in Contributing to the Well-Being of Youth and Their Families in Welbedacht, South Africa’ which reflected the research undertaken in my masters dissertation. This study used a qualitative research approach, specifically a case study design, to explore the role of the ashram.”
She said that three samples, which consisted of 24 participants, were purposively selected. “These three samples were made up of the board members of the ashram, family members who are members of the ashram and community members who live within the milieu of the ashram. Semi-structured in-depth interviews and a focus group discussion were used to collect data. The study found that the ashram played a central role in empowering and enabling the well-being of disadvantaged family and community members,” she said.
Gurcharan’s research found that the ashram not only provided assistance when psychosocial or financial distress was encountered, but also highlighted the spiritual support offered to families and other community members in order to transcend the socio-economic ills they faced as a marginalised community. Gurcharan said that it was a great experience as she was introduced to the various programmes that the ashram offers and its outstanding impact on the Welbedacht community.
She said: “I had the opportunity to experience children of all ages partaking in activities such as the prayer programmes, school programmes, and the food programmes to name a few. The salience of the ashram in helping the community and families to transcend the hardships experienced was evident in the study.” The research article is published in the Religions journal which is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open-access journal on religions and theology, published monthly online by MDPI.
