Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation to replicate ‘free food kitchen’ across India

The ‘free food kitchen’ programme under which lunch and dinner are served free of cost to the attendants of patients in 16 government hospitals across Andhra Pradesh and Telangana will be further augmented and replicated across the nation, said Nimish Pandya, all-India president of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation.

Addressing the media at Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar here on Thursday, Mr. Pandya, who is on a tour of Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, outlined the numerous service activities the organisation had been undertaking drawing inspiration from the teachings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba – Sathya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema, and Ahimsa.

The Sri Sathya Sai Village Integrated Programme was yet another unique scheme under which the organisation targets to transform at least one village in every State into an ‘adharsha gramam’ by 2020.

Talking about the Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Jyothi programme, Mr. Pandya said it catered to the holistic development of children who were not so fortunate to study in formal schools for various reasons. There were over 900 such centres adopted by Sri Sathya Sai Seva organization across the nation, 192 of them in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana where several, he added.

Highlighting the importance of Sri Sathya Sai Bal Vikas education, Nimish Pandya said that Balvikas classes are conducted with the main objective of initiating the child into a course of character building by developing self-discipline, providing healthy association, inculcating such habits of reading, listening, studying, and reciting as will sublimate the Childs growing mind. The aim of the programme was to teach youngsters under the age of 14 value-based concepts

“The Bala Vikas programme being organised for over 50 years now was yielding the desired result”, he said. There were over 15,00,000 children undergoing the programme across the nation. It was planned to celebrate the golden jubilee of the programme next year.

The water project was another important dimension of the organisation under which the parched throats in the remote areas are quenched.

Mr. Pandya on Wednesday inaugurated five water projects in the Paderu area of Visakhapatnam district, providing potable drinking water to tribal people, who otherwise had to trek long distances to fetch drinking water.

“Earlier thousands of tribal villagers and others in remote villages had to walk for miles for a pot of potable water, but, now the tribal people are so happy to fetch water at their doorstep. “A woman at Paderu said yesterday with a beaming face that she now has time to spend with the family,” said Mr. Pandya, and added that there were 272 projects undertaken by the organisation in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana.

The medical services being undertaken was unique in more ways than one, he said. An analysis of only 30% of data that could be obtained from across the nation put the market value of the medical services extended at a whopping Rs. 29 crore, he said.

“The amount has not been part of any CSR activity of a corporation, or any largesse of any philanthropist. It is the amount donated by devotees by sacrificing a part of their hard-earned savings. This is one stellar example of love in action elucidated by Sri Sathya Sai Baba,” he said.

“These apart, the organisation has been running several orphanages, where children are given holistic education and their morale is boosted,” said Mr. Pandya, and added that the organisation also runs over 100 schools where, apart from formal education, the children are imparted value-based education and human values.

When asked whether there was any plan to set up a university in Amaravati on the lines of the one in Prashanthi Nilayam, Mr. Pandya said the focus was more on reaching out to the grassroots level and imbibe human values among the children so that they grow up into good, responsible human beings.

“In reaching this objective, the organisation has been running 14 Sri Sathya Sai Rural Vocational Training Centres across the nation, five in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana, under which job-oriented skills were imparted to youth to make them employable.

Earlier, Mr. Pandya released a brochure – Rise to Serve – detailing the service activities of the organisation in Visakhapatnam district.

He had a word of praise for the members of the organisation in Andhra Pradesh and Telangana when he said they were doing a commendable job in terms of undertaking service activities and taking the message of Sai to the masses.

The National Disaster Management teams of Sri Sathya Sai Seva organizations were requested by the various government and non-government organizations to render rescue operations in times of need, Nimish Pandya said

Whenever nature strikes hard on humanity, Sai Organisations and Sri Sathya Sai Central Trust are the first to reach offering a supportive hand in Disaster Response, Rescue, Relief, Rehabilitation and Restoration of human life.

Some examples of places where major Services rendered :

•   Diviseema Cyclone of 1977
•   The earthquake of Gujarat in January 2001
•   Tsunami of 2004
•   Odisha Flood Disaster of 2008
•   Earth Quake in Sikkim in 2011
•   Floods of Kashmir in 2014
•   HudHud Cyclone of Visakhapatnam in October 2014
•   Floods in West Bengal in 2015
•   Floods in Chennai in 2015
•   Earth Quake in Manipur in 2016 – these are only a few mentioned where the DM teams of        SSSO have rendered great rescue service

N Ramani, National Vice-President, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation,SG Chalam, State President, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, AP & Telangana,,R Lakshmana Rao, State Vice-President, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, AP & Telangana,,VR Nageswara Rao, District President, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, Vizag District,Principal, Sri Sathya Sai Vidya Vihar, Several National Team members, National coordinators, State Coordinators were present at the Press meet.

The above has been put forward as received in a Press Note.