Sewa Sandesh April 2013           FOURTH INTERNATIONAL SEWA BAITHAK IN VRINDAVAN A two-day fourth International Sewa Baithak was held in Vrindavan, Mathura, Uttar Pradesh from April 8, 2013 to April 9, 2013. 45 Delegates from various countries including Bharat, UK, USA, Kenya, Canada, Denmark, Myanmar, Finland, Malaysia and Sri Lanka participated in the meet. Shri Shyam Parande, International Coordinator of Sewa International Bharat introduced the Adhikaris and other dignitaries to the participants. He also briefed about the previous International Sewa meet held in Mumbai in 2010. Participating in the deliberation, Ma. Bhaiyaji Joshi, Sarkaryavah of the R.S.S. said that thinking about others’ has been Bharatiya tradition; however, it should have been world tradition. He also pointed out that it is ‘thinking’ capability that differentiates human being from animal. Explaining the evolutionary process of human being, Ma. Bhaiyaji said “there are several stages in a human’s life. The child first recognizes only their mother then they start recognizing their father, brother, sister and finally they recognize their neighbors and others from the society. When they reach the final stage, they start thinking about other’s pain and suffering. Thus, gradually the child develops a kind of ‘Sanskar’ (Values). As they grow up, their socialization gets completed.” “Before 1860 A.D. registered organizations did not exist in Bharat. During British period, this practice was adopted,” he informed. Man. Bhiyaji further added, “To work in disasters/Calamities has been our prakriti. The essence of eighteen Puranas is to remove the pain and suffering of others. Selfish motive cannot be part ofSewa. Sewa is natural and free from every kind of vikriti. There is huge poverty, backwardness, illiteracy and diseases in our country. Karyakartas must understand these problems and try to solve them. They can’t solve the problems/pains of these people without experiencing them. Charity commissions do not bother about sewa. They concentrate only on paper work like documentation, audit etc. Now, Sewa has become a business.’ Credibility gap’ is the main concern in the NGO sector. The Sangh has been serving the society for long. It is natural and part of our Sanskar. We have to work with a difference. We can learn good qualities in the course of work. In Vanvasi kalyan Ashram, About 2000 Karyakartas have come up as full- timers in the past 30-40 yrs. Our Sewakaryas have tremendous impact on the lives of nomadic people, tribal, dalits, women and other neglected sections of the Bharatiya society. We need to create good Karyakartas. We should provide dignity to the people who are being served. We should create conducive environment so that beneficiary becomes benefactor.” The entire programme was divided into nine sessions. Video-presentations, Power-point Presentations, Reporting and Discussions took place in these sessions. Video-presentations/Power-point Presentations/Reporting made on the occasion were on the Yuva forSeva; Arogya Rakshak; HEART; SevaSahyoga; YFS Hyderabad; Akshar Bharati; Sri Lanka Relief and Rehab Programme for War- Affected Tamil People; Micro Enterprise Development in Kutch; Kenya – Shallow Wells With Hand Pumps, Tree Planting and School- Feeding Project; Vanvasi Kalyan Ashram Activities, Bharat; Sewa US Activities;Sewa UK Activities; Sanatan Dharma Sevak Sangh (Burma) Activities; Sewa– day, Various International Progarammes – Vidya Nidhi ;Disability -Welfare; Sewa Tourism; International Internship and Fellowship progarammes. The conference’s purpose was to find mechanism to promote volunteering and improve national and international networking through sharing information and experiences and identifying the needs of the projects as well as understanding the workings of the Sewa Karya. The sessions included raising awareness for efficient accounting and recording so as to fulfill the obligations of the Trusts as well as to meet the reporting expectations of the donors. The representatives of International Chapters of Sewainternational that include Sewa USA, Sewa Canada, Sewa UK and SewaSriLanka gave reports of the Sewa activities in their respective countries as well as the challenges faced by them. The detailed reports and presentations of some of the selected Sewa projects were very informative and enlightening.   Ideas/Observations/Suggestions An International Coordination Committee/Global Sewa Group to be set up to coordinate Sewa activities at International level. Branding of Sewa work with a common logo, common programmes and common websites etc. Fund- raising target should be realistic because every donor country has its own potential and limitations. To make fund – raising exercise participatory. Fund-raising activity should be made full-time job. Full- time workers should be engaged in this task. In general, healthcare, Education and Environment are important areas to be addressed. Projects/programmes should be need – based. Sewa tourism should be encouraged. 6000 Sewa works are being run in ‘Kanyakumari’ district. Our goal is to make our society ‘Swavlambi’(Self-reliant). 1, 33000 Sewa projects are being run across Bharat. In Sri Nagar, J&K 200 Sewa works are being run. All the karyakartas are from Muslim community. Regular, structured and scientific progarmmes should be designed and launched. In Bharat, there are lots of opportunities for Volunteerism. To make volunteering a movement. In Bharat Volunteering has been an old tradition. In 2012, Sewa – day became an independent registered body. Sewa – day should be observed in Bharat also. Sewa – day should be made a motivational activity. In Sri Lanka, Sewa-day is being organized every year involving various sections of society. Vision & mission statements of the Sewa International are to be reconstructed. Mission statement should be specific and concise while logo should be consistent with all concerned countries. To hire professional ‘proposal- writers’ for good project proposals. There is huge ‘credibility gap’ in the NGO sector to address it, is the need of the hour. Our focus should be on transparency, accountability and quality. 33,000 crore rupees are to be available for NGO sector under C.S.R. programme. To identify suitable centers to be run for disabled people in Bharat. There are seven crore disabled people in Bharat. Sewa UK has designed a programme to be run for these differently-abled/special people. To create good karyakartas. To provide dignity to the people who are being served.                                                                                                                  The conference concluded on the second day by inspirational baudhiks and margdarshan by the adhikaris. In his speech, Akhil Bharatiya Sewa Pramukh of The RSS Man. Suhas Rao Hiremath said that there are 10 matru organizations in the Sangh. All the Sewa activities are being run by these organizations. He told the participants about several best practices/ success stories inSewa karyas being run in various states/ region including J&K, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu & North- East. Valedictory speech was delivered by Shri Saumitra Gokhle, International Coordinator of H.S.S. In his speech, he said, “Sewa International is growing in many countries day by day. Now in Bharat hundreds of thousands of Hindu organizations are participating in Sewa works to uplift the weaker sections of our society- Daridranarayan. In modern times, it was Swami Vivekananda who popularized and spread the spirit of Sewa.In fact; there are several stages in sewapath. Feeling other’s pain/ suffering is the beginning. Second stage comes when one feels the whole world as ‘one family’ while one reaches final stage when he/ she starts feeling ‘oneness’ with everyone else. He further said, “Let us make people contributor not merely ‘receivers’. ‘My way’ should not be made ‘the high way’. We should always encourage the diversity of workings’’. ‘Efficiency and excellence need to be maintained in Sewa Karyas’, he added.                                                                                                                  SWAYAMSEVAKS JOIN RESCUE OPERATION AT CHITHERI TRAIN DERAILMENT CHITHERI, a village in Tamil Nadu-Vellore district, around 90 km off Chennai, shook once again when 11 bogies of Bengaluru-bound Muzaffarpur-Yesvantpur Express derailed on April 10.  Immediately after getting the information, the RSS volunteers plunged into rescue operation and saved lives of the passengers. They not only provided food packets to the stranded passengers but also took the injured to hospitals. It is to be remembered that RSS volunteers were also part of the rescue operation during September 2011 train accident at the same place.        Annual function of Shahid Jadonang Hostel, Delhi KALYAN ASHRAM IS DOING DIVINE WORK - Mahant Rameshwar Puri "VANVASI Kalyan Ashram is doing divine work. Swami Vivekananda said serving the needy and underprivileged is serving the God. Therefore, everyone should help the Kalyan Ashram in this endeavour,” said Mahant Rameshwar Puri Maharaj of Niranjani Akhada, Haridwar. He was speaking at the annual function of Kalyan Ashram run Shahid Jadonang hostel in Delhi on April 7. Kalyan Ashram Akhil Bharatiya Shraddha Jagran Pramukh Shri Suresh Kulkarni was also present on the occasion. Swami Rameshwar Puri further said the Vanvasis are in very miserable condition and they face many onslaughts not only from the alien forces but also from our own people. Therefore, it is the collective responsibility of everyone to help them joining the mainstream. He lauded the activities of Kalyan Ashram and said it is truly transforming the lives of the Vanvasis.   Speaking on the occasion, Shri Suresh Kulkarni said Kalyan Ashram is basically a bridge between the society and the Vanvasis. He apprised the gathering of the countrywide activities of Kalyan Ashram. General secretary of Sanatan Dharma Sabha Delhi, Shri Bhushanlal Parashar shared his experience of Meghalaya visit. The Shahid Jadonang hostel was started by Kalyan Ashram in 2008 with just 18 students from north-eastern states. In the beginning it was started in a rented house at Badli. Later, it was shifted to its own building built in Narela. Presently, there are 45 students from different parts of north-eastern states. The hostel is from class 2 to 10th standard. All facilities are provided to the students free of cost.    Annual function of Arogya Bharati Delhi HEALTHY LIFESTYLE PREVENTS THE DISEASES DELHI unit of Arogya Bharati organised a health check up camp at Rajinder Nagar in New Delhi onApril 14 to celebrate its annual function. Check up of 125 patients was done before the start of the main function. The pathological tests were also done with the help of latest equipments. The main function began with lighting of the lamp and chanting of the Dhanwantri Stavan mantra. Dr Amar Bahadur Thakur, north zone organising secretary of Arogya Bharti, introduced the Arogya Bharati activities. Senior doctors of diabetes, cardiology and naturopathy delivered lectures on healthy lifestyle to prevent diseases. Senior doctor MP Agarwal spoke on prevention of diabetes while Dr Jai Kishan Garg delivered lecture on healthy eating habits. Dr Ganesh Shivanani, who is registered in Limca Book of World Records for carrying out maximum number of heart surgeries without complications, stressed the need to keep oneself fit by making minor changes in lifestyle and having healthy food habits.  Dr. Ashwani Mehta, senior Cardiologist, and Dr Rajesh Talwar, senior Anasthisiast, spoke on prevention of diseases and stress management.     BLOOD DONATION CAMP ON GOLWALKAR JAYANTI   Govindaraja Nagar unit of RSS, along with Yadava Seva Pratishtan and Rashtrotthana Blood Bank, organised Blood donation Camp on March 17, as part of 107th Birth year of Second Sarasanghachalak of RSS Guruji Golwalkar and 150th Birth Year of Swami Vivekananda. The camp was held at Nachiketa Manovikas Kendra at Govindarajanagar at Bangalore. More than 100 volunteers donated blood on the occasion.     FOURTH TREE PLANTING AT KEREITA FOREST IN KENYA    As part of the celebrations of 150th Birth Anniversary of Swami Vivekananda, 2000 trees were planted at Kereita Forest on Sunday 14th April 2013. The event was organised by Hindu Religious & Service Centre under the auspices of Hindu Council of Kenya and sponsored by The Saffron Group. A group of 100 enthusiastic environmental volunteers participated in the event. The planted trees are being looked after by Kijabe Environment Volunteers for 18 months  giving us a survival rate of about 90%.   PURVANCHAL SEVA SANGAM ENDS ON A POSITIVE NOTE A gathering of service organizations active in the sensitive state of Assam in NorthEast Bharat concluded on a very positive note. Over 50 such organizations participated in this conference called ‘Purvanchal Seva Sangam’ which was held from February 23-24, 2013. The event was inaugurated by Bharat Sewashram Sangh Swami Sadhananda by lighting the traditional lamp on the first day.Addressing the gathering on the occasion Swami Sadhananda exhorted the people to render selfless service to the needy and neglected sections of the society. Gurusharan Prasad, national co-convener of Rashtriya Seva Bharati dwelt on the role of Sewa Bharati and the concept of seva provided by the Rashtirya SevaBharati.The valedictory function of the event was held on February 24. Pramod Prakash Shrivastava, IPS (retd) and presently representative of the Government of Bharat on the North East Council was the special guest on this occasion. Akhil Bharatiya Seva Pramukh of RSS Suhas Hiremath delivering the valedictory address emphasized on real meaning of seva and the objective to be achieved through these seva activities. FOOD FOR THOUGHT:       "Good people do not need Laws to tell them to act responsibly, While bad people will find a way around the Laws." - Plato For Further Information Please Contact: SEWA INTERNATIONAL BHARAT 49, Deen Dayal Upadhyay Marg, New Delhi – 110 002, Bharat (India) Telephone   +91-11-43007650 , 23684445  Email ID: sewainternationaldelhi@gmail.com  Website: http://www.sewainternational.org Blog: http://www.sewasandesh.blogspot.com