Social Welfare Institute is a charitable and social service society of DIECESE of Raiganj and its area of operation include Malda, Uttar Dinajpur and Dakshin Dinajpur district of West Bengal. The institute was establised with the aim of bringing about a society where love, peace and equlity are lived and experienced by all.
During the Indo – Pak war in 1971, nearly 2 million refugees from Bangladesh landed up in North Bengal for asylum; government machineries were unable to meet the needs of the refugees. Due to heavy influx of refugees, basic needs such as food, shelter and medicare collapsed. People of North Bengal faced innumerable problems. At once, then diocese of Dumka, feeling the dire needs of the people rushed for help; made tents for the refugees to stay. It also provided twice meal in a day for adult and for the children they provided milk, biscuits etc. In this work Dumka diocese received helping hand from Catholic Relief Services. Since then CRS have been parnter in relief, rehabilitation, education and development work. Within two years (1973), Social Welfare Institute was registered under West Bengal Societies Registration Act XXVI of 1961 bearing the registered No. S/13846 of 1973-74.
Initially the work of the organization was relief oriented. After having taken the cause of the refugees, it gradually moved on towards developmental activities in the areas of education, health and hygine, Agriculture, community development programmes, Community based disaster preparedness, Safe Migration, voctional training, Skill developmental Initiative for the SHG and school drop out, care for the HIV/PLHV etc. through the support of our donors CRS USA, Caritas India, Manos Unidas, Caritas Germany, Misereor, Unicef, NABARD, FVTRSB Clinton Foundation and CBCI Global Fund. Our mission, “To restore the human dignity among the poor through the process of empowerment” plays pivotal role in our thinking, planning and implementation of the programmes. The main thrust of our work includes the empowerment of the weaker section of people-(women,children,men) poor, deprived, marginalized, less priviledged and socially and economically excluded communities through right based approached (to provide them with enough knowledge regarding their rights, role and responsibilities).
The life saving initiatives taken by its founder Fr.Yvo. Lafferla has been spread over three districts of North Bengal namely, Uttar Dinajpur, Dakshin Dinajpur and Malda covering about 7,235,440 populations in the area of 9092 Sq.k.m.