:
While we were still in the U.S.A and contemplating our move back to
India, Vijaya happened to share
our retirement plans with one of her close friends. When her friend
heard that we were thinking of settling
down in Guntur and had interest in doing seva locally, she told us
about her uncle, who she said was
running a blind school in Brodipet, Guntur.
Later, we got busy with our move & transition and totally forgot about
this detail. Once in India, we
happened to meet one of our distant uncles, who is a retired principal
of a local high school in Guntur.
He mentioned that he tutors blind kids every Sunday, at an institution
named Sri Shirdi Sai Deena
Jana Seva Samithi, in Guntur.
So once we reached Guntur, we paid a visit to this school and when our
uncle introduced us to the
founder of the school, we discovered that he was the same gentleman
that Vijaya's friend told us about,
many months ago! We were instantly drawn to this amazing old man who
had dedicated his retired life
to the upliftment of the blind and the disabled. About 60 such kids
are being provided education and living
facilities, free of charge. They are also given opportunity to learn
and grow into complete and productive
human beings.
Drawing inspiration from Sri Venkateswar Rao garu, we slowly started
getting involved in his effort......
One of the first projects that we participated in this institution was
to work with the college kids there.
We were asked to motivate them and brush up their English speaking
skills etc. Some of these kids
were finishing up their post graduate studies and getting ready for
job interviews.And they were in need
of some encouragement!
So we started spending time with them and coaching them on skills
needed to do well in the
interviews. With support and encouragement from our close friends, we
were able to arrange for
4 laptops for these students. This gave them a lot of confidence and
soon after that, one of the
blind boys got a bank job and another disabled boy got a Pharmacy job too.
Next we started Education In Human Values program for the school kids,
holding classes on Thursdays
before bhajans. We also started teaching them new Bhajans regularly.
They began to enjoy our value
stories a lot, while also learning the messages and applying them in
their daily life!
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We have also been contributing to some healthcare needs of the blind
kids within our means.
Over all, we have been able to build up a close relationship with
these kids and they now look forward
to our visits so much! As soon as we enter the premises, they
recognize us by our voices and
come and surround us with so much love!
There are two touching experiences at this school that made us realize
that it was through sheer
divine grace that we were prompted to work with these special children:
1. Last year, we were invited to attend the 15th Anniversary function
of this institution and to our
amazement, we came to know that this school was inaugurated by our own
Guruji Sri Viswayogi Viswamji
Maharaj, all those years ago! He was also the Guest Of Honor at that
Anniversary function, so it felt very
special to receive Him there and get His blessings as one of the
school committee members.
2. The founder president Sri Venkatewar Rao garu is our role model. He
is full of love and commitment
and dedicated his entire retired life to build and run this
organization in an exemplary manner.
He occasionally arranges for excursions and pilgrimage trips for the
blind children. One such trip
took place in Oct 2012 to Puttaparthi. Ram and Vijaya were also in
Puttaparthi at that same time, so we
got the fortune of arranging for special Darshan for this group. We
also had the chance to give them company,
guide them and explain things to them ( as they can not see, only
hear) during the Bhajans, Samadhi
Darshan as well as the special Dasara programs that were being
performed by Swami's students. It was their
first visit to Parthi and ours was an unforgettable opportunity to
help make it a memorable experience for them!
More Photos can be viewed at Photogallery Page
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