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ISSO Seva: Rejuvenated Journey to Serve Humanity

Be Human.  Chances are that you have heard this phrase many times in your life.  But what does it mean to be human?  It is a simple yet abstract concept that has varying degree of definitions depending on personal beliefs.  To some, it is the literal definition of being a species that can walk upright, talk, wear clothes, and other such qualities.  However, there exists a higher meaning that is universally understand exists regardless of who you are or where you come from.  Being human is about having compassion and empathy for you fellow stranger.  It is the ability to care about someone you do not know anything as well as those closest to you.  Examine any culture, any race, any religion, and it is evident that this unifying force holds part of our purpose on Earth.

Each culture has their own take on what is being human entails.  In Dharmic faiths, including Hinduism, Jainism, Sikhism, and Buddhism, this is represented through a sacred tenant known as Seva.  This ancient Sanskrit word is defined as selfless service.  It is the ability to make sacrifices in your life to positively impact another’s life without the need or want of repayment.  It literally is out of the goodness of one’s will.  Seva sometimes is pushed to be taught, however, it is an innate human characteristic that already exists within every soul.  It is something that someone wants to do, not something someone has to do.  This primordial belief is the underlying foundation upon ISSO Seva was formed.

ISSO Seva (http://issoseva.org/) is a non-profit global humanitarian organization that was initially founded in 2001 by His Holiness 1008th Archarya Shree Koshalendraprasadji Maharaj in the wake of the devastating earthquake that hit Gujurat, India.  The response was overwhelming, where volunteers around the world provided humanitarian aid in many forms.  ISSO Seva’s mission is to inspire and engage communities to serve humanity.  As individuals will realize the needs of their community, they will have the motivation to take necessary steps to initiate change.  Sometimes the smallest act can have the largest ripple effect and impact.

Over the years, the organization served both global and local communities providing many different programs and activities including free health camps, disaster relief efforts, blood drives, food drives, and much more.  In the past couple years, ISSO Seva has gone through a transformation resulting in a new invigorate focus to be a driving force in today’s generation.  Part of this focus is engaging the younger generations in learning the values of performing seva but it is never mandated.  The more they learn and know, the better they will be at taking action when they see someone in need.  This youth involvement and especially evident in ISSO Seva’s recent participation in the 10th Uganda Medical Mission in Lira, Uganda.

For the past 10 years, Indo-Africa Charitable Society of Canada and Indo-Africa Charitable Trust of UK have held the Uganda Medical Mission throughout various parts of Uganda and ISSO Seva had the privilege of co-sponsoring this year’s camp over the summer.  This camp is designed to provide free primary medical care to local populations.  The care provided spanned five medical disciplines: General Practice, Pediatrics, Dental, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Ophthalmology, in addition to corresponding Pharmacies to distribute free medicine.  There were about 60 local health professionals and 50+ other volunteers hired for this camp. In addition, 22 volunteers participated from UK, USA, and Canada including 8 students ranging from 14 to 22 years old.  7 of the volunteers were there on behalf of ISSO Seva.  In the 10 days the camp was held, 24,989 patients were served!  This included distribution of over 3500 pairs of prescription glasses. There was a dental outreach program with visit to most of the Lira district schools to educate students on proper dental hygiene practice. The team distributed over 13,000 dental hygiene kits to students.  We also distributed over 50,000 glucose biscuit packets and fruit juice pouches to patients at the camp and at the children’s and maternity ward of the hospital. Further, patients that needed follow up care were provided transportation to receive necessary treatments at various hospitals around Uganda.  There were two patients that would not have been treated anywhere in Uganda due to the nature of their condition but the Indian Association Uganda was able to provide help.  The Indian Association Uganda is an amazing organization that has a program to annually help about 30 patients that cannot be treated in Uganda and be sent to India on an all-expense paid medical trip, and were able to provide such service for these two patients.

ISSO Seva was also actively involved in looking for other opportunities to help anyone in need.  As a result, the organization was able to step up and make an impact to several groups of people.  Smile Africa is an orphanage home in Uganda that supports until children until the age of 18.  Unfortunately, sometimes the situation for some of these children is difficult after they leave the orphanage.  ISSO Seva was able to donate laptops with Windows 10 and office 360 programs so these children have the ability to learn new and current skills so they can better support themselves after their time at the orphanage.  Another organization, ISSO Seva helped was Agurupuru Primary School for Children with Disability and donated clothes for young girls.  Finally, ISSO Seva along with other volunteers donated clothing and various essential needs to that Alira Women’s Group, an AIDS affected women’s village outside of Lira.  ISSO Seva was able to donate a laptop with current programs to this village’s school as well so they too can develop new skills that are more prevalent in today’s world and increase their opportunities to support themselves.

This journey to Uganda was extremely rewarding and an unforgettable experience.  Not only was I personally able to learn a great deal of medicine from shadowing and following numerous doctors at the camp, I was able to truly appreciate the access to services available at home in the United States.  Sometimes we take for granted the things around us because we will always have access to them.  It was an eye-opening experience, especially for the younger members of our volunteer group.  They were able to see the hardships some people have to go through especially in terms of diseases and medical conditions first hand.  In my many conversions with these bright young individuals, many different ideas were expressed about what they expected and how things actually are.  But our conversations always came back to one thing, the impact that we were making to the people of Lira and Uganda.  We were extremely grateful that we had to opportunity to positively affect others, especially those in areas that are considered hard-to-reach.  The country of Uganda is extremely beautiful as well as of their people.  All the patients and individuals we interacted with in Uganda were extremely appreciative and thankful for the help we provided.  The smiles and tears of joy and appreciation we were showered with was endless.  It is difficult to recount the number of times we were told “Thank you for your service.”  But our goal was not to collect thank you or accolades.  We all wanted to be there because we felt that we can make a difference while experiencing a new culture.

It sometimes is easy to donate for different causes and it is a great way to give back to the community.  But when you are physically interacting with the individuals you impact, a connection is created that will last a lifetime.  No matter how much time passes, I will remember this experience just as if it was yesterday.  This is what it means to perform seva.  This is what ISSO Seva stands for.  As this organization continues to grow in the coming years, we hope more and more individuals become inspired to help the next person in need by looking within ourselves to do what we feel is right.  And what we feel is to be human, serve humanity.

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Volunteer experience  - Nikitha Varsani (Willesden, London, UK)

Nikita Varsani volunteered as a teacher in India helping underprivileged youth. She's from Willesden, UK. Here's our interview with her about her experience.  

Q. Where did you volunteer and why did you do it there?

A. I volunteered as a Teacher in local schools in Baroda, India specializing mainly in English.

I decided to do it there as it would be beneficial for me in all aspects; I could do volunteering and spend time with my family. Initially as a group of friends, we planned to do it in Sri Lanka or Bali, but it didn't quite work out with logistics. That will be my next challenge now!

Q. What inspired you to volunteer?

A. The inspiration for my volunteering came from the famous words of H.H. Shree Koshelendra Prasadji's words "Be Human First Then Satsangi" and in a recent article Gadiwala Shree mentioned making one kid happy is equivalent to doing 100 malas. Therefore, I realized, giving back to the community is as important as being religious. They go hand in hand together.

My brother also has done something similar a couple of years back and he advised me to do it as it's an experience of a lifetime. I will also make a difference. As I finished with my studies, I thought what better way to celebrate than passing along the skills and knowledge that I've gathered over the years to others.

Q. Explain a typical day at the school where you were volunteering.

A. I volunteered at two different places. At the first one, I was there for a week and our day usually started at 8 and lasted till 12. Then we moved to the office till about 4 which was further away, and made teaching materials for the kids. Traveling alone in rickshaws in India was an experience!!

In the second school, the days were much shorter. They started at a similar time; the day began at 8 but we planned the class first, then the kids came at 9. We would usually teach will 1130, then they had a 'tummy' time and we would finish the day off with a dance class, which was always fun! The kids used to usually go home at 1230, the teachers then used to make materials/plan for the next day.

Q. How did you feel at the end of it?

A. So many people have asked me this, it's a feeling that can't be described. Those that have done something similar will know what I'm talking about; I felt content at the end of it and I learned so much from them. Despite not having all the facilities they were still so happy with what they had. This made me realize how we take everything for granted. They were always smiling, happy and humble.

I didn't want to leave on my last day, it was such an overwhelming experience!! Definitely something I'll cherish for a lifetime.

Q. Your advice to others?

If you have the opportunity to do it, then definitely do it!! There's no thinking twice you won't ever regret it. As mentioned above, you'll just have this wonderful feeling by the end of it that's indescribable.

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Alberta, Canada Wildfire 2016

ISSO Edmonton During Fort McMurray, Alberta Canada Wildfire 2016

ISSO Edmonton provided 24x7 food and living arrangement for around 170 families for continuous 49 days.

They also distributed over 125 mattresses along with blankets, pillows, bed sheets, and pillow covers.