My early induction into Mohandas K. Gandhi embedded deep within me a famous quote of this gentleman " The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others".
My spiritual orientation early in life to the philosophical preachings of Sri Sathya Sai Baba inculcated in me a lesson that " Ammi Tuti ,Servi Tut-I love all ,Serve All" .
As I grew along, I understood the fact of life that there is no higher religion than human service. I began to experience that to work for the common good is the greatest creed.
Service to others is tough act when you force yourself to do so.But the joy you reap when you know that you served someone in need is more gladdening than any reward/appreciation can.
A little "thought -for the day " whilst in school-"Service to mankind is service to God" made me want to realize this and act upon it .
Along the way of life, I realised how true was the great Rabindranath Tagore's word " I slept and dreamt that life was joy. I awoke and saw that life was service. I acted and behold, service was joy". Small deeds gave me immense satisfaction.Even 1/2 a slice of bread that I could share with a pet/animal would make me feel better & that is when it got etched in my heart/soul what our Mahatma Gandhi had said-"~ The best way to find yourself is to lose yourself in the service of others."
Sahai-How it all Started:?
Sahai is a childhood dream of mine being able to make a difference in the life of someone within this world. A dream cultivated by a childhood friend whose desire to be a great physician was crushed by family circumstances. It is a dream, which was nurtured and kept alive with encouragement from my grandparents , parents & uncle without them knowing about it.Their sweet,caring ways/acts/talks inculcated in me a strong desire to be able one day to wipe away a tear of a needy person.After becoming a professional with the struggles in life and traveling different roads, I have now reached Bahrain and took the first step of Sahai ,when on Jan 1'2006 our daughter Jyeshta was born , which changed our life. Parenthood brings out latent emotions & hence this good deed I owe it to our daughter to have given us a chance to be part of a dream to help someone. Our daughter have given us so much love and affection that there are not enough words to describe how we feel.
I have been carrying the mission of helping the needy and disabled children without even my own family knowing about it and since then I have never looked back. It has been my intention to go back to India and open a charitable clinic. The tsunami disaster in December 2004 changed my life and I could not watch the horrible waves of death and destruction and the cries of the innocent people, especially the children with grief stricken faces looking for someone to hold their hands. It moved me beyond description.
My desire to do something noble and be a role model for my children is a constant request for my innerself to do something, and that something is SAHAI . The encouragement of my family and friends was good enough for me to go out and envisage this dream .It is now in the lane for becoming a reality soon .Hope the Almighty blesses all endeavors -physical, mental,financial to make this dream a reality, a reality that can wipe away a few tears & bring some joy/hope to the needy.
This impetus and ongoing desire to be able to help and the dream of my lifetime helped me in starting this non-profit organization called “Sahai.” Initially , its main supporters will be family and very close friends with common interest of helping the poor children and elderly. We hope our message of hope and help will spread and more individuals will join Sahai’s journey to bring a smile on an innocent child or elderly face.
"Sahai" is conceptualised to be officially founded in 2012-when I turn 40 years old. But it cannot be done without the "Sahiata"- the help and support of my wife and close family/ friends.
According to my senses & feelings , this is what "Sahai" should stand for:
Sahai's Appeal : The word 'Sahai' is taken from the Sankstirt word "Sahaita" used extensively in both Hindi ,Kannada & even Punjabi languages of India. The literal meaning of "Sahaita" is "to help" or "to support". Every now and then somewhere in this world, human beings suffer due to man made, or natural disasters. In the third world countries, everyday, poor children and elderly struggle for basic survival, food, health, and education. The number of destitute children and elderly people is on the rise as economic stresses increase day by day. We the members of "Sahai" appeal to the fortunate among us to wholeheartedly help the unfortunate among us.
Sahai's Vision:"The children in our society are happy, healthy and well educated That the elderly in our society can live with dignity and self-respect”.
Sahai's Mission:"Hold and support a frail hand; Bring smile on an innocent sad face; Afford dignity to the less fortunate”.
Sahai's Motto:A good deed is the most rewarding and satisfying act."A small token of love, affection, and wealth can go a long way to help the unfortunate in our society. "Sahai" will help to provide resources that are readily available to the needy children and elderly regardless of their status, background, religion or caste.
Sahai's Services:
During the initial few years,the main services will be to hold health awareness health care/hygeine & medical camps in India . Along the way,Sahai will help create awareness of donating blood ,eyes, etc through the program called "Gift of LIFE".
Along with doing medical camps in rural India , Sahai also maintains regular medical camps in the place wherever self & family shall reside & hence medical/hygeine camps are typically thought to performed at worker camps/temples/ Gurdwaras/mosques etc. Hundreds of patients can be examined at these camps and health education classes can be arranged at some of the camps.
Long term plans for "Sahai"is to own a building complex called the "SAHAITA" which houses and helps children who are either orphans, disabled, belonging to disabled parents, abandoned or have no financial resources for education or care.
Sahai's Goals:
At present Sahai is trying to provide its services by keeping these goals in mind:
Mobilizing community members, with a common interest in our society's welfare and to help generate resources. These resources include: •Providing equal opportunity and resources to needy children and elderly regardless of their status, background, religion, or caste•Organizing charitable clinics that provide preventive health education and immunizations in rural India & abraod•Providing help to shelters for orphans, disabled children and adults•Providing education tools for less fortunate children of rural India & abroad•Helping other charitable organizations working for the welfare of children and poverty stricken communities around the world.
Sahai's Operations and Funding:
Sahai's staff shall be purely volunteer based which is composed of doctors, professionals, college students,families & friends and many volunteers from the local communities whereever Sahai shall have a outlet/franchise. Their funding comes strictly from independent donations as they raise awareness of the organization by having annual fund raisers in India & abroad.
- This is just the beginning....Sahai has a long journey to make-a journey of hearts beating for one another, a tear of fear/worry being replaced by the tear of joy & on this journey many like minded/hearted souls are going to connect hands. Hope God blesses this wish to come true & empower HIS reflection through acts of his creations-we the people!
Kindly...add in your thoughts/suggestions/comments to help make this "SAHAI" a reality in the times ahead......
Together, we can..& we shall..make a difference..to some deserving/needy lives around us.....
yrs, Sahai...
Sudhir
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