Satsang Seva Journal

Following an initial visit to the border village of Tokipur during April 2022, Team SSM Kolkata has initiated several sevas in May 2022 to support a few inhabitants of this impoverished hamlet. Ramen Ghosh, aged 78 years, had been suffering from cataract and had nearly lost his eyesight for want of medical help. The team members were able to facilitate his travel expenses and support his treatment over the course of multiple consultations at the Regional Institute of Ophthalmology, Kolkata.  Since April 2022, Debabrata Das and Saubhagya Das, two bright youngsters from Tokipur had received aid for their books and tuition fees. One of the team members had also offered them online English support classes. The intention was to eventually bring them to Kolkata after their 12th Grade exams and help them to become financially independent. On 6th May 2022, the team members secured their admission for the basic computer course at the Moulali Youth Computer Training Center which is one of th...

The Acworth Municipal Hospital is a 131 year-old hospital that treats leprosy patients. It also houses a leprosy museum that educates people about leprosy, its history, causes, and modern treatment options.  Since the disease is mildly contagious leprosy patients are kept in isolation during their treatment.    Members of Team SSM Mumbai interacted with the management of the hospital and learned that the hospital requires a supply of medicines some of which are common for all leprosy patients and are required on a regular basis. They put together a list of these essential medicines and procured them.    Adhering to the COVID-19 protocol, they visited the hospital and donated the medicines on the 12th of January 2022 to commemorate the birth anniversary of Swami Vivekananda and the anniversary of the commencement of the Walk of Hope, a  padayatra  for peace and harmony, led by Sri M from 2015 to 2016.

The Ganesh Festival, especially in Pune, is a festival full of colours.  Unfortunately, with the COVID situation being the way it is, the mood of the festival this year has been subdued. Due to the COVID restrictions, all Ganpati mandals were looking to celebrate this year’s festival with innovative methods. The Chinchwad Shri Sant Dnyaneshwar Mitra Mandal (Chinchwad Mitra Mandal) and The Satsang Foundation collaborated this year to conduct a free eye check-up drive for approximately 200 people. The event was publicized through word of mouth and social media and conducted near the Jagrut Morya Gosavi Ganpati in Chinchwad.  The drive evoked a huge response and almost 200 senior citizens and children showed up to get their free check ups done. 124 people got new eye glasses while the doctors diagnosed that 8 of the people would require corrective eye surgery. Discussions are on with potential sponsors to minimize the cost of surgery for the 8 patients.  All the people who a...

𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐰𝐨𝐫𝐥𝐝 𝐡𝐚𝐬 𝐛𝐞𝐞𝐧 𝐝𝐞𝐚𝐥𝐭 𝐚𝐧 𝐮𝐧𝐩𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐞𝐝𝐞𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐩𝐫𝐨𝐛𝐥𝐞𝐦 𝐝𝐮𝐞 𝐭𝐨 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗.  𝐓𝐡𝐞 𝐒𝐚𝐭𝐬𝐚𝐧𝐠 𝐅𝐨𝐮𝐧𝐝𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧,  𝐬𝐭𝐚𝐧𝐝𝐬 𝐢𝐧 𝐬𝐨𝐥𝐢𝐝𝐚𝐫𝐢𝐭𝐲 𝐰𝐢𝐭𝐡 𝐚𝐥𝐥 𝐂𝐎𝐕𝐈𝐃-𝟏𝟗 𝐰𝐚𝐫𝐫𝐢𝐨𝐫𝐬. The Kerala SSM team distributed 36000 pairs of gloves and 170 PPE kits to five hospitals recently. The gesture was much appreciated by the beleaguered health workers still battling against some of the highest infection rates in the country. In Phase 1 of the distribution, the team visited Calicut Medical College, which has been functioning as a COVID Tertiary Rehabilitation Centre for Corona Category C patients, requiring all the necessary medical protective equipment. When the cases are its peak, the hospital requires 7000 to 10000 pairs of gloves in a day. Recognizing the necessity, the team donated 7000 pairs of gloves and 50 PPE kits to the hospital, for which the doctors expressed deep gratitude saying they would be inva...

ANIKET Sevabhavi Sanstha, an institution for differently-abled children, has been at the forefront for several activities that the Satsang Seva Mission team at Pune has conducted here. On Sunday 8th August, in tandem with Samyak Yog, the members of the SSM team organized an eye camp for the children and staff of this special institution. An ophthalmologist, two opticians, and two representatives of Samyak Yog tested the eyes of all 68 children and staff. The tests revealed that two children had a squint problem while one child had a cataract problem in both eyes. Nine other children needed corrective glasses which will be provided by the opticians. Free treatment for eye problems would be provided over the next few weeks and free, glare-reducing glasses for children who work continually on a computer will be made available by the opticians. The SSM team members concluded this eye-care camp by serving a sumptuous meal for these special children and their care-givers.

Devastating flash floods in Chiplun town and its surrounding villages in Ratnagiri District of Maharashtra, created havoc among its populace who found their homes and businesses under several feet of water. While helping people clear the aftermath, a Satsangi made distress calls to Mumbai and Pune.  Teachers from schools in and around Chiplun, who had been part of the Mumbai Team's MyTree project, volunteered to make 1,000 medical kits to be distributed not only in and around Chiplun but also in remote villages affected by the floods.   Responding to the call, our SSM volunteers were swift in their efforts to help people clean their homes, provide cooked meals, drinking water, clothing and ration.   With pharmacies and medical shops still underwater, our volunteers took the help of a local doctor to make a list of medicines that were needed immediately and sent it to SSM volunteers in Mumbai and Pune.  On 31st July, 64 cartons of medicines containing first-...

The Eera Nenjam Old Age Home at RS Puram in Coimbatore provides shelter to around 80  people who are above 60 years of age. Mrs. Subbulakshmi, the manager of this home, requested the members of the Satsang Seva Mission team at Coimbatore to provide essential medicines for the elderly. On the 8th of May 2021, the SSM team provided essential medicines, diapers, masks, and sanitizing kits.   Mrs. Subbulakshmi expressed much gratitude to Team SSM Coimbatore for this gesture.