Maharashtra is a State in the north-central part of India. It came into existence on 1st May 1960, and the total area of the state is 3,08,000 sq. km. As per the latest census in 2001, the total population of the state is 9, 67,52,247 (Male-5, 03,34,270and Female-4, 64,17,977). The literacy rate of the state is 77.3%. Maharashtra's mother tongue is Marathi. There are altogether 35 districts in the state.

Jeevdan, training centre and boarding for the mentally challenged children, is situated in a small village called Zarap, in the middle of the Sindhudurg district in between Savantawady and Kudal in Maharashtra on the Mumbai -Goa National Highway (NH.17). Jeevdan is 10 km away from Kudal, the nearest railway station. Jeevdan is 70 Kilometers away from Panjim, the capital of Goa.

Sindhudurg district was carved out of Ratnagiri and Kolhapur in May 1981. It consists of eight Talukas, viz Deogad, Vaibhavwadi, Kankavali, Malvan, Kudal, Vengurla, Savanthwadi and Doudamarg. Sindhudurg district is situated between North 15 37' to 16 40' latitudes and East 73 19' to 74 13' longitudes. It is bordered by Arabian sea in the West and Sahyadri hill ranges in the East. It is bounded by Ratnagiri district on the North and the State of Goa on the South and Belgaum district of Karnataka on the South East.As the district is economically backward and the vast majority of the population lives in rural areas, the families are incompetent to give adequate care for the mentally handicapped persons. As there was no previous scheme in Sindhudurg in this line of work, Jeevdan has become the first step taken by any private or government agency to help the mentally handicapped persons.