Shanti: A Journey of Peace Raises Over $227,500 to Benefit AIM for Seva

BY KALYANI GIRI

MARCH 19, 2010

HOUSTON: It was a feat of Herculean proportions, a display in creative eloquence. The stage at the Cullen Performance Hall at the University of Houston inundated with a cast of 220 singers, musicians, and dancers, the hall resonating with voices in soul-stirring melody, and capacity audiences moved by the messages of global peace and harmony. Shanti – A Journey of Peace, the brainchild of Cincinnati-based musicologist Maestro Kanniks Kannikeswaran, teamed a coterie of richly enthusiastic vocalists from the local Indo American community with the United Nations Association International Choir (UNAIC) in a unique multi-culturally diverse and interfaith endeavor. Serving as choral and orchestral conductor to Kannikeswaran's opus was Eric Esparza, Interim Conductor of the UNAIC. Two presentations of Shanti on March 13, 2010, at 5.00pm and 8.30pm respectively, drew capacity audiences and raised over $227,500 in ticket sales and donations for the visionary philanthropic organization, All India Movement for Seva (AIM for Seva).

The programs began with welcome addresses by Mistresses of Ceremonies for the evening, Bhavani Iyer and Rohini Chandrashekar, who also acknowledged the presence of dignitaries in the audiences. They included Consul General of India Hon. Sanjiv Arora, Mayor of Pearland Tom Reid, spiritual heads of diverse faith – based ministries, and leaders of local social, educational, and community organizations. Projected onto large screens flanking the stage were video presentations of humanitarian work being done in India by AIM for Seva. The movement founded and spearheaded by His Holiness Swami Dayananda Saraswati in the early 2000's, touches the lives of over 2.5 million people in 1,000 rural and tribal villages across 15 states in India.

AIM for Seva is a movement that Shanti's creator Kannikeswaran resolutely believes in. He made several trips over the past 18 months to this city volunteering his creativity and time for the worthy cause. The performers, many with fulltime jobs, were so inspired and energized by Kannikeswaran's commitment to the project that they dedicated thousands of hours in preparation for the stage show. Shanti is a monumental representation of 5,000 years of India's living traditions through music and dance. It reiterates India's spirit of inclusiveness that allowed a plethora of faiths to co-exist harmoniously for centuries. The presentation celebrates the human mind when it transcends differences and diversity and empowers itself to see goodness and likeness in all beings. A master craftsman conversant in the classical western and Indian forms of music, Kannikeswaran has built Shanti on that tensile fabric with multi-textured hues of harmonizing in tandem. Rather than a Broadway presentation that transports participants from city to city, Shanti incorporates local talent pertinent to the city of performance.

The objective of AIM for Seva is to make education possible to every child in inaccessible and rural areas through the concept of chatralayas, or student homes. Student homes are located near existing schools and each student is provided with clean living quarters, food, health check ups, books, vocational training, after school activities, all free of cost to help them get ahead in life. The goal is to have at least one home in each of the 600 states. The charitable trust has more than 122 projects that include 83 chatralayas, 20 schools, five hospitals, 17 health care centers, 11 medical clinics including seven mobile units treating about 200,000 patients each year.

More than 20,000 hours of volunteer work went into the making of Shanti. The stretch goal locally is to raise $500,000 dollars to educate, and to emotionally and physically care for children in India.

For more information or to donate, visit www.aimforseva.org. For more information about Shanti – A Journey of Peace, visit www.shantichoir.org

AIM for Seva Home brings the best out of these students!

This is an article published in "The Hindu"

Sruthi Krishnan

It provides holistic education to the needy free of cost

BRIDGING THE GAP: Students at the Swami Dayananda AIM for Seva Students Home at Kadalur in Kancheepuram district.

CHENNAI: At the sound of a shrill whistle 22 pairs of feet scamper to stand in four lines. With the short burst of the next whistle, the children lay flat on their backs. After what seemed like three seconds of relaxation, the next beep sees legs lifted off the ground forming a sharp L-shape. The legs stand poised in the air, waiting for the next call, which lets them relax again.

“It is called Sarvangasan,” explains N. Bhupalan. At 6 a.m. everyday, this is one of the yogic exercises performed by children at the Swami Dayananda AIM for Seva Students’ Home in Kadalur village in Kancheepuram district. Bhupalan studies in the ninth standard in a school eight km away from the hostel. He goes there in a van with other children.

Two years ago, his life was quite different. Bhupalan hails from a family of nine at Palaverkadu. His father is a fisherman. “I used to keep roaming and whenever we felt like, my friends and I used to run away to the seashore,” he recalls. When his mother found out about the hostel where facilities were provided free of cost, she decided to send him there.

Hopes kindled

“I cried for a month or so, because I wanted to go back,” says Bhupalan. “But then I began to like it here. They counsel me, teach me yoga and also teach me how to pronounce English properly.” He is sure he will become the Collector of Kancheepuram district. “I’ll make sure all children come to the Home.”

It is the routine and the discipline of the hostel that he likes the most. Bhupalan’s day starts at 5.30 a.m. and is filled with studies, play and school. Nutritious meals, three times a day, yoga and extra-curricular activities such as sports and music are a daily feature. It is a far cry from the life he was used to.

Other children in the Home have similar stories to tell. They say that they would have dropped out of school and started working in the unorganised sector if they had not come to the Home.

The high drop-out rate, almost 60 per cent in tribal and rural areas, prompted Swami Dayananda Saraswati, a Vedanta scholar, to start the All India Movement for Seva (AIM for Seva), says Sheela Balaji, secretary of the organisation. “Children were not going to school for a lot of reasons. The question was how we could help these children.”

Gains in popularity

By setting up the Student Homes near schools, the organisation found a way. It was difficult convincing parents to send their children to the Homes at first, says Ms. Balaji. “They were concerned about safety.” Slowly and steadily, seeing the transformation in children, the parents were convinced. From basic hygiene to academics and value education, the children were provided a holistic education free of cost. Today, parents approach the organisation to enrol their wards.

Starting with a Student Home in 2001, today AIM For Seva runs 60 such Homes in 14 states across the country. In addition, the organisation is involved in running schools and healthcare centres. The entire operation is run on voluntary donations, says Ms.Balaji. It costs Rs.1,250 a student per month and so the annual expenses on 3,000 students comes to Rs.4.5 crore. “The local communities also participate, once they know how much it benefits the children.”

The aim of the organisation is to bridge the urban-rural divide, says Ms.Balaji, adding that they own the land on which the Homes are built. “There is a sense of permanence… We are here for the long haul,” she adds.

For information visit www.aimforseva.org.

A poignant letter from Kolli Hills!

Following is an e-mail update from Swami Paramananda-ji in Kolli Hills, TN, with news worthy of celebration, and the painstaking work that goes behind it.

A single kind "anonymous" donor from Houston contributed $15,000 towards the construction of the 2nd floor of this chAtrAlayA in the year 2005.

Some details of the chAtrAlayA can be seen here:

http://www.aimforseva.org/projects/tamil-nadu/kolli-hills-chatralaya/index.shtml

In our ashram, we are having 50 boys and 50 girls who are orphans, very poor and mainly Kolli Hills tribal. They appeared for the 8th standard public exam. This year Thenmozhi, a tribal student, topped the district with a score of 419 out of 500. All 28 students who appeared passed. Earlier, they were all school drop-outs. Many scored very good marks now. Hence the student home changed their life and future. We are planning to educate them further as much as they want to study. We have three gentlemen and three ladies as teachers. They go to villages to get these children. I also sometimes go with them. Many times it involves walking for miles. It is difficult to convince the parents and children. It is not easy to talk with them. Once they join at an average age of 9, we have to teach them from the scratch. The teachers have done a good job. We can double the strength as per the sponsorship we get now onwards. It is really a great feast to see happiness of those children who passed. They came to me with some toffees to share their joy. Hence I thought to share with those who are inclined and supported and potential well wishers. Thank you for reading! With prayers, Swami Paramananda-ji, Kolli Hills ChAtrAlayA, Tamil Nadu ========================

Limkheda gets a "Thumbs Up!"

AIM for Seva - Adivasi Kumar Chaatraalaya, Dudhiya (Sashta)

Limkheda, Dahod District, Gujarat

Land Donors:

Lakhidas Patel

Pratapbhai Dangi

Supported by: Houston Indian community, USA

Date inaugurated: 15^th June 2006

No. of students: 27

Villages covered: 25

Average Monthly Family Income: Rs. 500

School attended: Sashta Government School

The Adivasi Kumar Chaatraalaya is currently operating from a temporary shelter in the tribal village of Sashta in Gujarat.  Sashta is 5 kms away from Limkheda town and 45 kms from Godhara.  The 27 students currently at the student home mainly belong to Adivasi families of the Bhil communities from villages in and around Sashta.

Bhils are a scheduled tribe with their own leadership, laws and customs.  They are a homogenous ancient ethnic group where they face the challenge of living in a hostile environment ravaged by drought and outbreaks of diseases. Poor infrastructure and lack of academic institutions further aggravate their situation.  They mainly work as peasant farmers, field laborers, and village watchmen, where often they have to put in eighth to ten hours of hard labor for a mere pittance of Rs. 20 to 25 per day.

Educationally, these Adivasis are far behind the national mainstream and have recently started sending their children to school with a lot of reluctance.  Being poor and illiterate they have been easy prey to the greedy and exploitative tactics of the rich landlords and moneylenders.

The children come from very backward areas, their parents are mostly laborers living below the poverty line.  They are of the age group 7 to 12 years, studying in Std. II to VII. They are taught Yoga in addition to academics.  This keeps their body fit. They also take part in indoor and outdoor games.  This is a Study Room of the Students. We provide them daily tuition by a trained teacher.  They attend the “Sandhya Gurukulam “ – evening private tuitions.  These students when they joined the Student Home were not even in a position to even count up to 100. But today, they can not only read and write in English , they can speak in English. This is the result of the evening tuitions that are conducted regularly by a dedicated trained teacher.  There is a Kitchen and Dinning Hall. Students take lunch and dinner as per our tradition. We provide them food with vitamins, proteins and nutrition.

Students do their work by themselves only. They also help in gardening and cleaning the Chaatraalaya.

We also celebrate our different Festivals in the Chaatralaya, like on Ganesh Chaturthi we perform “Ganesh Yagna“.  Sometimes we also take them to “Arsha Vidyalaya”, Godhara, for entertainment and we take them to visit different places near by Godhara.  During this Diwali, we took them to Arsha Vidyalaya.  They have enjoyed with different Cartoon movies, Educational cartoon CDs etc. On that day a packet of crackers and Sweet was given to them for their Home

The children are also given special classes in Samskrita Sambhashanam  (Conversational Samskrit).  Every year they also give Sanskrit exam which is conducted Samskrita Bharati, Delhi.

The Chaatraalaya runs under the guidance of Swamini Spashtatmananda, who takes care of students wholeheartedly like a Mother. She was instrumental in visiting all the tribal and backward areas near Sashta and admitting the needy students into the student home. She teaches the children the values of life and gives them samskaras to become a complete human being.

Dharwad children on their way to a bright future!

 

NAME:

ALL INDIA MOVEMENT (AIM) FOR SEVA

DAYANANDA  DHARMA CHAATRAALAYA

30/2/C LAKAMANAHALLI VILLAGE, P B Road, DHARWAD DISTRICT,

Pin – 580 004,  KARNATAKA

Donors:   Late Sri. Mangesh Kulkarni  

Supported by: Houston Indian community, USA

Date inaugurated: 2006

No. of Students: 41

Villages covered: 18

Average Family Monthly Income: Rs. 1,500

School Attended:     Govt. Primary & High School, Ghandi Nagar,

Dharwad also known as Dharwar, is in the state of Karnataka. The legendary”Dharwad Peda“, made from milk and khoa, and Babu Singh’s “Thakur peda“ are some of the famous  sweets available in this town.

Dharwad’s population 648,298 ,as per 2001 census.  Dharwad is located 425 Km northwest of Bangalore.  The word “ Dharwad ‘ means a place of rest in a long travel or a small habitation.  For centuries, Dharwad acted as a gateway between the Malenadu (Western Mountains) and the Bayaluseeme (Plains).  The late centenarian Mr.Mangesh Kulkarni , always wanted to help the needy and the blind children. So, when he was unable to cope with the administration of Dayananda Dharma Trust, chaired by Pujiya Swami Dayananda Sarawathi, he handed it over to AIM for Seva to run it.

The Chaatraalaya is situated on the Pune – Bengaluru highway.  It is on the way to Dharwad from Hubbili.  The Chatralaya houses 33 school children and 9 blind college students.  Children are provided with healthy nutritious food and highly ventilated dormitory. They are also supplied with all the study materials pertaining to the class they are studying.  Special coaching in academics is given in the evenings by noteworthy teachers to these children.

Mr. S.M.Anand, the warden takes care of these children with love and care.