Media Release

Mangaluru, Sep5: R S Shettian is the first person from Karnataka to be elected the posts of national treasurer of Indian YMCA and trustee of YMCA Karnataka in 158 years history of Indian YMCA movement.

R S Shettian, chairman and managing director of Athena Hospital and Athena Group of Institutions, Mangaluru has been elected as the national treasurer of the Indian YMCA movement (National Council of YMCAs of India) for a three year term (2015-18) and the trustee of YMCA, Indian Student Hostel (ISH), London during the election of 34th National Triennial Convention held on September 4 at Al-Saj Convention Centre, Trivandrum, Kerala.

YMCA is the 7th largest NGO in the world. Founded in 1844, YMCA is one of the oldest and largest (7th largest) NGO in the world. YMCA aims at the overall welfare and development of spiritual, mental and physical faculties of the youth without any distinction of caste, colour, sex or race. The movement has rendered a pioneering service in the spheres of education, sports, relief and rehabilitation of refugees, physical education, youth work and camping, hostels, co-operative endeavors and rural reconstruction work. Its members from different countries form the world alliance of YMCAs, an organization that has consultative status with the economic and social council of the United Nations.

YMCA Indian Student Hostel (ISH)
The YMCA Indian Student Hostel, London is a prestigious project of the National Council of YMCAs of India and it is one of its kind outside India. It was started in the year 1920 and has been rendering pioneering service to the Indian students who have been coming to London year after year for furthering their studies, providing them a safe haven, a home away from home. It has also become a cultural centre for the Indian students and crucial place for meetings and interactions between senior leaders in the Indian political scenario and civil servants.

About YMCA movement in India
YMCA is a world-wide youth focused membership based movement of men and women which seeks to share the Christian ideal of building a humane community of justice with love, peace and reconciliation. The YMCA movement originally began in post industrial England of 19th century in London on the initiative of a young man called George Williams, who along with 12 of his co-workers from different denominations of the Christian church formed the Young Men’s Christian Association on June 6, 1844.

In India YMCA took roots in 1857 at Calcutta. This was the very first YMCA in Asia and was followed by Colombo, Trivandrum, Bombay, Madras and others.

National Council of YMCAs of India was formed on February 21, 1891 and it is the governing body of Indian YMCAs. There are 556 local YMCAs affiliated under its umbrella with over 3 lac members. The Indian YMCA is the second largest network in the world after USA and is a part of the global YMCA fraternity known as World Alliance of YMCAs with 124 member countries.

For any clarification, please contact: 9980128173 (R S Shettian).