Month: May 2020
A garland of poems written by children on Bhagawan’s 94th Birthday
Dear Bhagawan, Your love for the children is boundless and unconditional. Please accept a garland of poems strung in loving gratitude for you on the 94th year of your birth. The love for their Beloved Lord has been eloquently expressed by the children of the Sathya Sai Education program and the Sathya Sai School in Canada, ages 6 to 17. They are blessed to feel your presence within them, the sentiments expressed in the poems are testimonials to that.
Winter Coat Drive – Gratitude In Giving
A Winter Coat Drive was organized by the Downtown Eastside Community, Vancouver on November 10th, 2019 to make the cold weather more bearable for needy people in the region.
Regional Guru Training
Recognizing a growing shortage of trained gurus in multiple SSE programs, Region 2 hosted a major Guru Training Workshop on the weekend of April 6th-7th,2019. Over 50 new gurus were trained in the tenants of Sai education, as well as the practical aspects of forming and presenting there a value-based SSE lesson.
Interfaith Festival of Creation
SSIO Canada united with 27 other Faith groups to commemorate the United Nations World Interfaith Harmony Week, at the Interfaith Festival of Creation. The event was held in Toronto over the annual Family Day weekend observed every February, and attracted over 1000 visitors, including many children.
Sai Mask – Hands that Stitch
The current COVID-19 pandemic has brought with it despair and uncertainty; however, in true Sai tradition the Ladies Wing decided to undertake a significant service project. Although a lot of activities had come to a halt and there was no opportunity to meet and discuss, the Ladies Wing was able to complete this service of stitching face masks for the East Toronto community by coordinating with skilled ladies and other devotees via phone, Skype and email.
‘Annadhanam’- Seva Food Bank Drive
Mississauga, in the Greater Toronto Area. Around 900 families depend on this food bank every month and this number drastically increased during the pandemic as a lot of people had been laid off their jobs. It was the Ladies wing who proposed this initiative; however, there was a lot of coordinated support from all the wings during the coordinators meeting. The idea of picking the items from the members’ houses on specified Saturdays came up during the meeting. Once the plan was agreed upon, a broadcast email was sent out to all the members to take part in our first ‘Food Bank Seva – via pick up’. The email included the hand washing, hygiene guidelines and informational poster which had items the Food bank needed with recommended guidelines for volunteers. A spreadsheet was prepared to help the teams in having a record of names and addresses. Tremendous support and enthusiasm marked this initiative. The Seva and the Ladies Wing coordinated to pick up the food items from the members’ homes. Many members who were not able to personally buy the food items donated money to the service coordinator. The food items were picked were weighed after the first and second pick up. The first Saturday pick was 550 pounds and the second pick up came to 40 pounds. which was later dropped off by the coordinators of the Ladies wing and the Seva Wing to the Food Bank location at Slough Street, Mississauga. The Cooksville Sai Centre’s “Food Bank Seva-via pick up” is a humble offering towards Aradhana Day Mahotsavam.
Annual Sai Family Retreat: 2019
Regional Family Camp in Southwest Ontario – Amidst a quite glade in Dorchester, Ontario over 150 devotees and volunteers from across Canada’s Region 2 gathered for a weekend family retreat from July 12th – 14th, 2019. Located about 200 km west of Toronto, the retreat grounds was a long journey for the attendees, many of whom departed on Friday afternoon. After the long drive, they were refreshed with a freshly cooked meal and a rousing session of bhajans, which set the tone for the events ahead.