CHICAGO BHARATIYA GIRL GROOMS ORPHANS AND KIDS OF SEX WORKERS IN INDIA
Grooming of children to respect parents, guests, teachers and volunteering in society is essentially an Indian tradition with parents. Most Indian parents do it whether they live in India or abroad. The first lesson they give to their children is – Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava, and Atithi Devo Bhava.
But there are less fortunate children, who are orphaned, or abandoned by their parents in India because of poverty. Many of these children live in squalor on streets. There are also children of sex workers, who are not lucky enough to have enough motherly care. All these children are neglected and left to fend for themselves.Priyanka Bhargav, a young college student from South Barrington, IL, is sensitive to the travails of these neglected children and abandoned women.Grooming of children to respect parents, guests, teachers and volunteering in society is essentially an Indian tradition with parents. Most Indian parents do it whether they live in India or abroad. The first lesson they give to their children is – Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava, and Atithi Devo Bhava.But there are less fortunate children, who are orphaned, or abandoned by their parents in India because of poverty. Many of these children live in squalor on streets. There are also children of sex workers, who are not lucky enough to have enough motherly care. All these children are neglected and left to fend for themselves.Priyanka Bhargav, a young college student from South Barrington, IL, is sensitive to the travails of these neglected children and abandoned women.Priyanka was born in India, but immigrated to the US as a baby. She feels that she is lucky, to be groomed by her parents in the traditional way of Indian values. She particularly attributes her sensitivity to poor children, to her father Yogesh Bhargav. While she has absorbed the essence of the first lessons she has received from her parents, she has taken volunteering very seriously.She attributes her strong sense of volunteerism to her exposure to Hindu Swayam Sevaksangh (HSS)-USA. As a child, she was introduced to HSS by her parents.Priyanka has just returned from Pune, India, where she volunteered to take care of less fortunate orphaned slum children, children of sex workers and even the abandoned women. She participated in a 10-week summer Yuva for Seva project of Sewa International-USA.Speaking to India Tribune, Priyanka pours out her heart having worked with these hapless orphaned children, children of sex workers and abandoned women. She says: 'I was in Pune for my project. I worked with an organization called Chaitanya Mahila Mandal, which works with women, who have gone through terrible things. They include the women, who are forced into flesh industry, the women, who have gotten pregnant and then abandoned, the women, who have been abused physically, mentally, emotionally or sexually, and even the women, who have been abandoned by their parents.”Priyanka says that Aashray is a rehabilitation and counseling center for these women where they can stay free of cost up to three years. The aim of the Aashray is to make these women self-dependent and to rehabilitate them. She says “I worked with these women, teaching them yoga, games, bhajans and English. They also participated in discussions on various topics.”She says she was touched by the children, whose mothers were being forced into the flesh industry. “There is a night crèche for these kids, who would otherwise be drugged and put to sleep or be forced to watch their mothers. In the night crèche, I taught the children songs, slokas, bhajans, English alphabets and numbers. I even taught them some games. For them, I created ‘alphabet flashcards’ with a letter on one side and two words with pictures that start with that letter. I also made motivational posters to be displayed on the walls of the crèche,” she adds.She has created various fundraising documents for Chaitanya Mahila Mandal, which will be uploaded on to their Web site www.cmmpune.org and a volunteering document that would enable one to donate money, resources, time or all the three.Priyanka says that she has been trying to volunteer with Yuva for Sewa for the past two years and was finally able to do so this summer. “I have always been passionate about helping out my community in India, my motherland. I wanted to volunteer in India. Visiting India with my family as a tourist has been fun, but I wanted to see a different side of India, the side I often hear about a lot, but never had a chance. Therefore, when I got a chance, I made full use of it,” she says with conviction.She says her experience in India in helping the women, who have been abused, trafficked or abandoned by their husbands and families, had been very painful and life-changing. “Navigating a city that I had never been in before, communicating in the languages I did not know well, and adapting to living conditions in an Indian hostel had been very challenging. This experience had broadened my view about the world,” she says.Asked how she felt working with women who were in flesh trade, Priyanka says: “I feel sorry for them. Given an opportunity they would all like to get out of it. But it is a vicious circle. Some women are bought by brothel-keepers. To win freedom, these women have to pay back these brothel-keepers. To pay back the money, these women have to keep on selling their bodies. When they sell their bodies, they get sick. To get treated they have to spend money. Therefore, the debt never gets reduced. Often it gets mounted. So they live in perennial debt and die in debt.”Priyanka condemns the system and pities these women and their children for being trapped in the vicious circle for no fault of theirs. The social organizations like Chaitanya Mahila Mandal and Aashray are helping them. But they are very few and the need is more. Priyanka says that she was one of the six girls and three boys chosen by HSS-USA to volunteer with Yuva for Sewa in various Indian cities. One of the volunteers was an American girl. Priyanka says that their experience has been no different from hers. Given an opportunity, she wants to go to India once again and work for the upliftment of these neglected children and unfortunate women.- J.V. Lakshmana Rao (India tribune Oct 1, 2012) Grooming of children to respect parents, guests, teachers and volunteering in society is essentially an Indian tradition with parents. Most Indian parents do it whether they live in India or abroad. The first lesson they give to their children is – Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava, and Atithi Devo Bhava.But there are less fortunate children, who are orphaned, or abandoned by their parents in India because of poverty. Many of these children live in squalor on streets. There are also children of sex workers, who are not lucky enough to have enough motherly care. All these children are neglected and left to fend for themselves.Priyanka Bhargav, a young college student from South Barrington, IL, is sensitive to the travails of these neglected children and abandoned women.Grooming of children to respect parents, guests, teachers and volunteering in society is essentially an Indian tradition with parents. Most Indian parents do it whether they live in India or abroad. The first lesson they give to their children is – Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava, and Atithi Devo Bhava.But there are less fortunate children, who are orphaned, or abandoned by their parents in India because of poverty. Many of these children live in squalor on streets. There are also children of sex workers, who are not lucky enough to have enough motherly care. All these children are neglected and left to fend for themselves.Priyanka Bhargav, a young college student from South Barrington, IL, is sensitive to the travails of these neglected children and abandoned women.Priyanka was born in India, but immigrated to the US as a baby. She feels that she is lucky, to be groomed by her parents in the traditional way of Indian values. She particularly attributes her sensitivity to poor children, to her father Yogesh Bhargav. While she has absorbed the essence of the first lessons she has received from her parents, she has taken volunteering very seriously.She attributes her strong sense of volunteerism to her exposure to Hindu Swayam Sevaksangh (HSS)-USA. As a child, she was introduced to HSS by her parents.Priyanka has just returned from Pune, India, where she volunteered to take care of less fortunate orphaned slum children, children of sex workers and even the abandoned women. She participated in a 10-week summer Yuva for Seva project of Sewa International-USA.Speaking to India Tribune, Priyanka pours out her heart having worked with these hapless orphaned children, children of sex workers and abandoned women. She says: 'I was in Pune for my project. I worked with an organization called Chaitanya Mahila Mandal, which works with women, who have gone through terrible things. They include the women, who are forced into flesh industry, the women, who have gotten pregnant and then abandoned, the women, who have been abused physically, mentally, emotionally or sexually, and even the women, who have been abandoned by their parents.”Priyanka says that Aashray is a rehabilitation and counseling center for these women where they can stay free of cost up to three years. The aim of the Aashray is to make these women self-dependent and to rehabilitate them. She says “I worked with these women, teaching them yoga, games, bhajans and English. They also participated in discussions on various topics.”She says she was touched by the children, whose mothers were being forced into the flesh industry. “There is a night crèche for these kids, who would otherwise be drugged and put to sleep or be forced to watch their mothers. In the night crèche, I taught the children songs, slokas, bhajans, English alphabets and numbers. I even taught them some games. For them, I created ‘alphabet flashcards’ with a letter on one side and two words with pictures that start with that letter. I also made motivational posters to be displayed on the walls of the crèche,” she adds.She has created various fundraising documents for Chaitanya Mahila Mandal, which will be uploaded on to their Web site www.cmmpune.org and a volunteering document that would enable one to donate money, resources, time or all the three.Priyanka says that she has been trying to volunteer with Yuva for Sewa for the past two years and was finally able to do so this summer. “I have always been passionate about helping out my community in India, my motherland. I wanted to volunteer in India. Visiting India with my family as a tourist has been fun, but I wanted to see a different side of India, the side I often hear about a lot, but never had a chance. Therefore, when I got a chance, I made full use of it,” she says with conviction.She says her experience in India in helping the women, who have been abused, trafficked or abandoned by their husbands and families, had been very painful and life-changing. “Navigating a city that I had never been in before, communicating in the languages I did not know well, and adapting to living conditions in an Indian hostel had been very challenging. This experience had broadened my view about the world,” she says.Asked how she felt working with women who were in flesh trade, Priyanka says: “I feel sorry for them. Given an opportunity they would all like to get out of it. But it is a vicious circle. Some women are bought by brothel-keepers. To win freedom, these women have to pay back these brothel-keepers. To pay back the money, these women have to keep on selling their bodies. When they sell their bodies, they get sick. To get treated they have to spend money. Therefore, the debt never gets reduced. Often it gets mounted. So they live in perennial debt and die in debt.”Priyanka condemns the system and pities these women and their children for being trapped in the vicious circle for no fault of theirs. The social organizations like Chaitanya Mahila Mandal and Aashray are helping them. But they are very few and the need is more. Priyanka says that she was one of the six girls and three boys chosen by HSS-USA to volunteer with Yuva for Sewa in various Indian cities. One of the volunteers was an American girl. Priyanka says that their experience has been no different from hers. Given an opportunity, she wants to go to India once again and work for the upliftment of these neglected children and unfortunate women.- J.V. Lakshmana Rao (India tribune Oct 1, 2012)
CHICAGO BHARATIYA GIRL GROOMS ORPHANS AND KIDS OF SEX WORKERS IN INDIA
INDIAGrooming of children to respect parents, guests, teachers and volunteering in society is essentially an Indian tradition with parents. Most Indian parents do it whether they live in India or abroad. The first lesson they give to their children is – Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava, and Atithi Devo Bhava.But there are less fortunate children, who are orphaned, or abandoned by their parents in India because of poverty. Many of these children live in squalor on streets. There are also children of sex workers, who are not lucky enough to have enough motherly care. All these children are neglected and left to fend for themselves.Priyanka Bhargav, a young college student from South Barrington, IL, is sensitive to the travails of these neglected children and abandoned women.Grooming of children to respect parents, guests, teachers and volunteering in society is essentially an Indian tradition with parents. Most Indian parents do it whether they live in India or abroad.
The first lesson they give to their children is – Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya Devo Bhava, and Atithi Devo Bhava.But there are less fortunate children, who are orphaned, or abandoned by their parents in India because of poverty. Many of these children live in squalor on streets. There are also children of sex workers, who are not lucky enough to have enough motherly care. All these children are neglected and left to fend for themselves.Priyanka Bhargav, a young college student from South Barrington, IL, is sensitive to the travails of these neglected children and abandoned women.Priyanka was born in India, but immigrated to the US as a baby.
She feels that she is lucky, to be groomed by her parents in the traditional way of Indian values. She particularly attributes her sensitivity to poor children, to her father Yogesh Bhargav. While she has absorbed the essence of the first lessons she has received from her parents, she has taken volunteering very seriously.She attributes her strong sense of volunteerism to her exposure to Hindu Swayam Sevaksangh (HSS)-USA. As a child, she was introduced to HSS by her parents.Priyanka has just returned from Pune, India, where she volunteered to take care of less fortunate orphaned slum children, children of sex workers and even the abandoned women.
She participated in a 10-week summer Yuva for Seva project of Sewa International-USA.Speaking to India Tribune, Priyanka pours out her heart having worked with these hapless orphaned children, children of sex workers and abandoned women. She says: 'I was in Pune for my project. I worked with an organization called Chaitanya Mahila Mandal, which works with women, who have gone through terrible things. They include the women, who are forced into flesh industry, the women, who have gotten pregnant and then abandoned, the women, who have been abused physically, mentally, emotionally or sexually, and even the women, who have been abandoned by their parents.”Priyanka says that Aashray is a rehabilitation and counseling center for these women where they can stay free of cost up to three years.
The aim of the Aashray is to make these women self-dependent and to rehabilitate them. She says “I worked with these women, teaching them yoga, games, bhajans and English. They also participated in discussions on various topics.”She says she was touched by the children, whose mothers were being forced into the flesh industry. “There is a night crèche for these kids, who would otherwise be drugged and put to sleep or be forced to watch their mothers. In the night crèche, I taught the children songs, slokas, bhajans, English alphabets and numbers. I even taught them some games. For them, I created ‘alphabet flashcards’ with a letter on one side and two words with pictures that start with that letter. I also made motivational posters to be displayed on the walls of the crèche,” she adds.She has created various fundraising documents for Chaitanya Mahila Mandal, which will be uploaded on to their Web site www.cmmpune.org and a volunteering document that would enable one to donate money, resources, time or all the three.Priyanka says that she has been trying to volunteer with Yuva for Sewa for the past two years and was finally able to do so this summer. “I have always been passionate about helping out my community in India, my motherland. I wanted to volunteer in India.
Visiting India with my family as a tourist has been fun, but I wanted to see a different side of India, the side I often hear about a lot, but never had a chance. Therefore, when I got a chance, I made full use of it,” she says with conviction.She says her experience in India in helping the women, who have been abused, trafficked or abandoned by their husbands and families, had been very painful and life-changing. “Navigating a city that I had never been in before, communicating in the languages I did not know well, and adapting to living conditions in an Indian hostel had been very challenging. This experience had broadened my view about the world,” she says.Asked how she felt working with women who were in flesh trade, Priyanka says: “I feel sorry for them. Given an opportunity they would all like to get out of it. But it is a vicious circle. Some women are bought by brothel-keepers. To win freedom, these women have to pay back these brothel-keepers.
To pay back the money, these women have to keep on selling their bodies. When they sell their bodies, they get sick. To get treated they have to spend money. Therefore, the debt never gets reduced. Often it gets mounted. So they live in perennial debt and die in debt.”Priyanka condemns the system and pities these women and their children for being trapped in the vicious circle for no fault of theirs. The social organizations like Chaitanya Mahila Mandal and Aashray are helping them. But they are very few and the need is more. Priyanka says that she was one of the six girls and three boys chosen by HSS-USA to volunteer with Yuva for Sewa in various Indian cities. One of the volunteers was an American girl. Priyanka says that their experience has been no different from hers. Given an opportunity, she wants to go to India once again and work for the upliftment of these neglected children and unfortunate women.-J.V. Lakshmana Rao (India Tribune Oct 1, 2012)
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“LAUNCHING a website has no more been a difficult task today. The real challenge is to keep it updated with interesting and useful material. The workers engaged in the sewa activities have plenty of useful and inspiring information about sewa work, but that information should be uploaded on the website in an interesting manner so that the maximum number of people can be encouraged to join the sewa activities,” said RSS Sarkaryavah Shri Bhaiyaji Joshi, while inaugurating the website of Rashtriya Sewa Bharati in New Delhi on October 18.
WATER harvesting is a commonly discussed issue today everywhere. A remarkable step has been taken in this direction by the people of some Vanvasi areas under Peth tehsil of Nashik with the active cooperation of Bhonsala Military College Nashik and Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram.A group of Kalyan Ashram volunteers, mostly engineers and contractors, along with 70 students from Bhonsala Military College Nashik, some villagers and some Forest Department officials reached the interiors of Lavali and Sadarpada villages and constructed four check dams to store water. It resolved the long pending water problem of the villagers. Tree plantation was also done there. The Forest Department provided the saplings and the villagers took the responsibility of taking care of the plants. This activity also brought into notice a positive side of the young generation. Now there is a hope for Vanvasis that somebody is there in Nashik to help them in resolving their problems.
Sewa International Australia which runs two Senior Centres in Melbourne got the first Award among all the six Senior Citizens Association of Melbourne with membership well over 600 and received a certificate of appreciation. It was mentioned to the audience that SIA is the only association which runs two Centres under the name of Bharatiya Senior Citizens Forum in Melbourne, without charging any contribution from the members. It is the only association that renders full service to the seniors with special emphasis on disabled elderly persons. Its entire activities are arranged on voluntary basis. Credit goes to the volunteers of SIA and members of the Forum.
THE 1999 cyclone in Odisha rendered thousands of people homeless. The children were the most affected in the tragedy. In that crucial phase, some young social workers under the leadership of Shri Ramesh Panda, came forward to provide ‘nest to needy’ under the banner of Kalinga Ashram. It was established at Tamana-Chikiti main road in Kankia Gram Panchayat. It is a Vanvasi pocket of Ganjam district.
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