Houston, TX (October 9, 2022): Sewa International has released $25,000 to help Hurricane Ian victims in Florida. Sewa volunteers have been distributing drinking water, food, and other essential supplies in Fort Myers Beach, Sarasota and other areas impacted by the hurricane. They are working with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) to aid the affected people.

Sewa volunteers from Orlando and Tampa collected food, water, and other materials and delivered them to the FEMA help centers. They also supplied groceries to the Fort Myers Hindu Temple. Since the hurricane hit the area, the temple has been providing over 500 hot meals daily to physicians, nurses, and people in relief shelters. So far, the temple has served over 3,000 meals and has helped more than 400 families.

According to local officials, Hurricane Ian, which made landfall on September 28, has caused over 137 fatalities. Considered one of the deadliest hurricanes to hit Florida, Ian has caused an estimated $28-63 billion damage, primarily from flooding.

Sewa's Orlando team on Sunday prepared sandwiches for families affected by the hurricane and delivered non-perishable food items to a Young Men's Christian Association (YMCA) center in Clearwater, FL. They also and cleaned debris at Daytona Beach and supplied hundreds of pounds of food to Allen Chapel AME Church in town. To fund its Hurricane Ian relief and resettlement work, Sewa has started a Facebook fundraiser (https://tinyurl.com/53h744yp) with the goal of raising $100,000.

Sewa International help reached hurricane Ian victims in Fort Myers. Today, roads were opened and our team in Orlando drove relief material to Hindu Temple of Fort Myers. Tomorrow, our Tampa team will take help from Tampa.

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Sewa Women’s Championship 2022 - Cricket & Kho-Kho sporting events were held on Sept 18th at Fowler Park Cumming, GA

Let me start by saying what an eventful day! The day started early for the sewa volunteers, coordinating and setting up for this tournament. Dr. Syamala Erramilli along with her husband Bob Erramilli, Johns creek City Council member was the guests of Honor and was accompanied by Vikas Arora Sewa Leader. The event was inaugurated with the invocation to Lord Ganesha’s prayers and the traditional lighting of lamps. Dr. Syamala emphasized on how important it is for women to stay active and motivated so that they can be good role models for their children. She also talked about how staying active helps us with endorphins which in turn helps us stay at bay with depression. She appreciated Sewa for conducting such events, as otherwise people would be cooped up in their homes, binging web series or movies.

We had a wonderful response to our cricket championship ably conducted by match referee Vijay Vaghela, a total of 6 teams participated, ATL Strikers, Crickootam, Ferocious Feathers, Firebirds, Magic Makers, and Wildbrooke Warriors. There were some tough competitive and super over matches played by these amazing women with full sportswomen ship and enthusiasm. The Cricket Championship was won by the Firebirds team, in 2nd came Crickootam, 3rd ATL Strikers, and in 4th Wildbrooke Warriors.

Complimentary lunch and drinks were provided to many participants under the able guidance of Amaresh Parvathaneni and Murali Rajgopalan. Our sponsor was SlayRX, the sports drink maker www.slayrx.com , whose contributions would go towards the S.H.E program( https://she.sewausa.org , the objective of this program is to create livelihood for economically weaker and vulnerable women through market driven skill development training as well as personality development and mental awareness.)

This was followed by the afternoon session being graced by the presence of Mrs. Raj Razdan, who also highlighted the importance of women’s wellbeing and staying active. She emphasized that parents should empower young girls to make their own decisions and live their dreams from a young age so they can become strong and independent members of the society. She congratulated all the women who came forward and participated in the event and encouraged them to continue to do so.

In Kho-Kho, four teams Mountain Crest Challengers, Ferocious Feathers, Lakshmi Bai, and Wildbrooke Warriors participated ably conducted by match referee Vishal Shah. The kho-Kho championship was won by Mountain Crest Challengers, in 2nd came Ferocious Feathers, in 3rd Wildbrooke Warriors and 4th was Lakshmi Bai.

Overall, it was a successful event and the participants were happy and expressed interest in participating in such future sporting events. A total of over 200 volunteer hours have been spent for the event. Event organizing team led by Neetu Chauhan, Pallavi Panthri, Vani Gaddam, Usha Palagiri, Garima Saini put in their best effort and pulled off a successful event! Thanks to Vijai G, Sewa Sports coordinator for guiding the team, Chanchal for coordinating Teen volunteers, Prakash Srivastava for technical and marketing help. Shobit Panthari and Raghav Tavva for the amazing pictures and videos which capture the memories for a long time to come.

By Usha Palagiri
Sewa Sports Group
Sewa International - Atlanta Chapter

https://sewausa.org/resources/2022/Press_release/SWC_Press%20Release.pdf

Houston, TX (June 13, 2022):  Sewa International Houston Chapter’s AmeriCorps program has been featured in the Partner Spotlight section by OneStar Foundation in its 2021 annual report. The recently released report with the theme “Rising to the Challenge” carried a detailed report on Sewa’s AmeriCorps program celebrating resilience of Texas communities addressing the COVID-19 pandemic and Winter Storm Uri. The OneStar Foundation administers the AmeriCorps program in Texas.

The president & CEO of OneStar Foundation, Chris Bugbee, has sent Sewa a special note of appreciation. The annual report mentions that “As a haven for immigrants and refugees from around the globe, the city of Houston has experienced tremendous growth, which has translated into a steady increase in demand for Sewa’s services, especially in the areas of disaster relief and education. Many of the families served by Sewa are living at or below the poverty line and lack the resources and English language proficiency to thrive.”

The report quoted, Carole Juárez, Sewa AmeriCorps Program Manager, on how Sewa and OneStar work in tandem to serve the people in need. “Leveraging volunteer service showed us what we were capable of as an organization, but the demands exacted on our force of affiliate volunteers put our aspirations for greater capacity in sharp relief. We saw a synergy between AmeriCorps’ culture of ’getting things done’ and Sewa’s core belief that ‘together we serve better.’ Partnering with OneStar offered the key to Sewa’s growth in Texas.”

During the COVID-19 pandemic, Sewa AmeriCorps team worked on disaster preparedness. “By tapping into the broad reach and local expertise of its new AmeriCorps members, Sewa was able to promote readiness more effectively with messaging targeted to the most vulnerable populations. Sewa AmeriCorps members organized workshops and health fairs to address vaccine hesitancy and promoted mobile vaccination clinics. Ahead of the record-breaking freeze in February 2021, the team provided Spanish-language information sessions to people who had never dealt with extreme cold. By the end of their first year, Sewa AmeriCorps members had assisted nearly 700 individuals in increasing their disaster readiness. They were also instrumental in recruiting and managing volunteers for Sewa’s food drives, which each served more than a thousand families,” the report said.

Washington, DC (May 14, 2022): In the backdrop of monumental relief work done during the COVID-19 pandemic in the US, and its second wave in India in 2020-2021, Sewa International volunteers gathered for Sewa’s 16^th Annual National Conference in Washington, DC.

Meeting after two virtual conferences in 2020 and 2021, nearly 100 Sewa volunteers, including Sewa’s board members, advisors, and the executive team, met on May 7 and 8 in the nation’s capital. Volunteers from Sewa’s 19 chapters participated in the conference.

As the air filled with the excitement of meeting each other after a long gap, Sewa teams discussed and debated strategies to keep the growth and the momentum generated last year by its volunteers’ brave and timely work. Sewa International raised over $45 million from various corporations, foundations, and individuals for its pandemic relief efforts in 2021, and catapulted to the tenth place from its 375^th spot last year on Benevity’s list of “Top Ten Charitable Causes Supported by Companies”.

Ramakant Rambhatla, Vice President and Chief Engineer of Invacare Corporation, a US oxygen concentrator manufacturer was felicitated for helping Sewa procure the much-needed oxygen concentrators to help India deal with the second wave of the pandemic. Invacare dramatically scaled up its production to help Sewa serve people in need. “We wanted to help and got a call from Sewa. We had a conference call on a Saturday morning at which our top Invacare officials participated. On Sunday, our production facilities geared up to meet the demand,” Rambhatla told the appreciative Sewa audience.

Sewa International also felicitated organization’s Honorary Board Member Prof. Radheshyam Dwivedi at the conference. Portraying Prof. Dwivedi’s decades long service to the community and his unwavering commitment to Sewa’s vision, mission and work, Prof. Yashwant Pathak, member, Sewa’s board of advisors said Prof. Dwivedi personified an ideal Sewa volunteer. Sewa’s President Arun Kankani, former President Prof. Sree Sreenath and members of the executive team felicitated Prof. Dwivedi.

Integrated Approach

“Human greed and a western belief that humans run everything has caused a grave imbalance in the world causing man-made catastrophes. In 1950 the world population was 2.5 billion, and within 70 years the human population has exploded to eight billion. Only an integrated approach to life as espoused by Hindu philosophy can save us from a disaster,” Suresh Jain, member, Sewa’s board of directors, said in his key note address at the inaugural session.

“Time is now ripe for Sewa to frame a Hindu faith-based service concept that promotes a holistic and symbiotic relationship with mother earth, culture, society, and family. Guided by dharma, this approach to life can create balance and effectively control deforestation, global warming, and other such destructive phenomena.”

“Many of today’s service organizations are religious in nature, and they play a critical role in policy making in the West. They raise funds and resources through their congregations but mixing service with congregational goals can be problematic. Sewa should build a global narrative where the happiness of all and considering the whole world as one family are the principles guiding our outreach to communities and to those in need,” Suresh Jain said.

Emphasizing the extended family-like atmosphere that inspires and binds Sewa volunteers, President Arun Kankani asked Sewa chapters to share their experiences and resources to build sustainable teams. “What got us here may not take us to the next level. To sustain growth and promote volunteering in the community, we need to organize more events that connect us with each other at a deeper level,” he said.

Sewa for Inner Joy

In his concluding remarks, Saumitra Gokhale, Global Coordinator for the Hindu Swayamasevak Sangh, said Sewa is now at an inflection point. “The organization achieved phenomenal growth while serving during the pandemic. We all want to serve as much as we can as it increases our inner joy. Compartmentalizing life into different activities is an often recommended western technique but it results in more stress. The Sewa way is to integrate our family, work, and service to live with joy,” he said.

“The great Indian epic Mahabharata clearly says that the divine forces always align with the well deliberated, thought-through, and boldly implemented good actions. Volunteers and donors are Sewa’s great strength and caring and appreciating them will help Sewa scale greater heights,” Gokhale said.

 

About Sewa International

Sewa International (www.sewausa.org) is a 501 (c)(3) Hindu faith-based charitable nonprofit that works in the areas of disaster recovery, education, and development. Sewa has 43 Chapters across the USA and serves regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin.

 

Atlanta, GA (April 19, 2022): Sewa International, through its Vasundhara Sewa program and its continued commitment to environmental causes, is supporting the Save Soil movement.

Save Soil is a global initiative launched by yogi and visionary Sadhguru to “invoke a conscious approach to soil and the planet.” One of Save Soil’s main objectives is to have countries across the globe enact necessary laws and policies that will “increase the organic content in cultivable soil” and address the catastrophic environmental degradation issues facing humanity. Joining the Save Soil movement are thousands of experts, community leaders, celebrities, governmental agencies, and heads of state.

After initial media coverage in the US, where Sadhguru was interviewed by Trevor Noah and Joe Rogan on March 21, he began a 100-day, 20,000-mile motorcycle journey across 27 countries. Sadhguru has traversed major European countries and cities, where he spreads the Save Soil message at large public events and in meetings with experts. He has engaged with major European media as well as government leaders. He emphasizes the pressing need to formulate policies that address the looming threat of soil degradation, how to regenerate soil, and work to ensure the health of Mother Earth.

Globally, 52 percent of agricultural land is already degraded, and the UN Food and Agriculture Organization predicts we only have 60 years of soil use left. Fortunately, there are proven solutions that could help reverse this calamitous trend if concerted steps are immediately initiated. Leading agencies such as the United Nations Convention to Combat Desertification and United Nations Environment Program are offering their support and expertise to ensure the success of these efforts. The movement has also received resounding support from several Caribbean nations, the Commonwealth of Nations, the “4 per 1,000” Initiative, the World Food Program, the Food and Agriculture Organization, and the International Union for Conservation of Nature, among others.
 

Sewa International will support Save Soil’s efforts through initiatives that engage its volunteers and the communities they live in. In alignment with the “Students for Soil” global initiative, Sewa will kick off a poster campaign involving the youth, amplifying their messages and designs through social media. Sewa then plans to continue the momentum by encouraging children to adopt and care for plants as well as join nature outings. These efforts reflect a commitment to join hands to facilitate Sadhguru's vision of spreading the Save Soil message to 3.5 billion people.

One thousand plus LEAD (a program engaging high school and college students) participants will be conducting various activities and managing campaigns bringing awareness about soil health to their communities. They will also be participating in the Earth Day poster campaign.

Sewa International’s forty-three chapters will be conducting soil conservation and awareness activities. They will also be involved in observing Earth Day on April 23 and are organizing a national evening webinar to unite experts and environmental leaders. Those involved will take the "Vasundhara Sewa" pledge: “I pledge to take steps toward the betterment of my Mother Earth. I will spread awareness to others. I will expand my knowledge and actions to reduce the carbon footprint and improve the environment and my community.” The pledge can be taken at sewausa.org/savesoilpledge.

“We in Sewa have always promoted the principle of serving all beings, sentient and non-sentient. Sewa means selfless service, and helping Sadhguru and his team spread this message of protecting the Earth is very much part of our goal to serve people by helping them lead safe and healthy lives in a beautiful environment,” said Prem Pusuloori, Director of Projects and Programs, Sewa International.

Houston, TX (March 09, 2022): Sewa International Europe played a key role in evacuating 467 African students, including 367 from Nigeria, and another 100 from Namibia, Zambia, and South Africa, from Sumy, the northern region of Ukraine bordering Russia, on Tuesday, March 8. Sewa volunteers coordinated the evacuation efforts responding to a request by Shina Alege, the Nigerian Ambassador to Ukraine.

 Nigeria’s Minister for Foreign Affairs, Geofferey Onyema, thanked Sewa International Europe for “their amazing facilitation and coordination”. In his message, he also thanked the Government of Ukraine for providing the buses, and Shina Alege, Nigeria’s Ambassador, “for his determination and perseverance”.

Sewa Europe volunteers received the request on March 5 from the ambassador and worked closely with the Sumy State University coordinators, Sumy city administration, and the Nigerian Student Representative, Moses Fehintola. The evacuation took place around 1:20 PM Ukrainian time. The students were taken from Sumy to the Romanian border where they are expected to board flights to their countries.

Sewa International volunteers in Europe have helped nearly 12,000 individuals in the last sixteen days since the war started. Over 100 Sewa volunteers are working within Ukraine, and fifty volunteers are working in the border locations assisting people to cross the border. So far, Sewa has helped stranded people from twelve nations.

Sewa helplines continue to receive calls from stranded people and 350 additional volunteers are involved in answering the helplines and arranging for food, shelter, transportation, and other types of help in Poland, Romania, Slovakia, Finland, the United Kingdom, and Germany. Sewa is receiving outstanding support and cooperation from many Hindu religious (dharmic) organizations such as the International Society of Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) and Swaminarayan Sanstha (BAPS) as well as citizens in bordering countries such as Poland and Romania. Volunteers from ISKCON and BAPS are working together with Sewa volunteers in serving food, providing shelter, and in reaching out to people who need help.

 

“It is really heartening to see that Sewa’s efforts to help the African students have been fruitful and they have been evacuated from Sumy. We thank the Ukrainian Government for providing the buses and a green corridor to help these students leave the war zone. We thank Ambassador Shina Alege for providing Sewa an opportunity to serve these students who were stuck in Sumy and facing danger,” Sewa volunteers Atul Sethi from Ukraine, Nilesh Solanki from the United Kingdom, Divyang Pandya from Norway, and Heramb Kulkarni from Finland said over a WhatsApp call.

 

Sewa Europe is continuing its efforts to help stranded people and people affected by the war in Ukraine.

 

To volunteer or for information on Sewa’s efforts, please visit https://sewaeurope.org, https://fr-fr.facebook.com/SewaEuropeOfficial/ or call +35 8504839418.

       

 About Sewa International

Sewa International (www.sewausa.org) is a 501 (c)(3) Hindu faith-based charitable nonprofit that works in the areas of disaster recovery, education, and development. Sewa has 43 Chapters across the USA, serves in 16 countries across the world regardless of race, color, religion, sex, gender, age, disability, or national origin.

https://sewausa.org/resources/2022/PR_SewaUkraineRelief_Mar082022.pdf

Houston, TX (March 02, 2022): As airstrikes cause extensive damage and people flee Ukraine in large numbers, Sewa International volunteers in Europe have helped more than 3,200 individuals in the past six days to cross the border to reach safety. Sewa volunteers are working with another 3,680 people who have registered for evacuation through the Sewa helpline.

Over 250 Sewa volunteers spread across many countries in Europe are coordinating relief efforts in eighteen Ukrainian cities. Working closely with Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) volunteers, Sewa units in Ukraine, Finland, Poland, Romania, Hungary, and Denmark are fielding calls from stranded students and others seeking help and directing them to a volunteer who lives close to them for further assistance.

“The situation on the ground is as challenging as it can get. Sewa and HSS volunteers are taking calls from people in distress and working  24 x 7 to help them evacuate. More than 35 Sewa volunteers are working on the ground in Ukraine. We are seeing an increased call volume as the war intensifies,” a Sewa volunteer from Ukraine, deeply involved in coordinating the relief work, explained over a WhatsApp call.   

Sewa is helping people to reach Ukraine’s western border by bus, train, or other modes of transport. They are distributing food packets, establishing temporary shelters, or working with local hotel owners to provide fleeing students a place to stay until they leave for their home country.

Heightened Fear

“After a student from India was killed in shelling in Kharkiv, the second largest city in Ukraine and an epicenter of the current war, there has been a heightened fear among students. Due to the danger posed by the war to civilian lives in the city, helping people leave Kharkiv has been our top priority. In nearly 80 percent of the situations, we have been able to help the caller when they call the Sewa help number for the first time,” Heramb Kulkarni, a Sewa volunteer from Finland said.

As per reports, about 9,400 students from India are in Ukraine and seeking help to leave the country. According to the United Nations Refugee Agency, over 660,000 people, mostly women and children, have left Ukraine within five days of the beginning of the war. Students stranded in Ukraine are facing multiple challenges, including threat to their lives, non-cooperation from local officials, not being allowed to cross the Ukrainian border, lack of food, and money.

To register for assistance, Sewa is asking people to complete an online form at -- https://bit.ly/SewaUkraineHelpline.  More information related to Sewa’s Ukraine relief efforts can be accessed at https://linktr.ee/sewaeurope, https://www.facebook.com/SewaEuropeOfficial,  or https://www.instagram.com/sewaeurope/sites.

About Sewa International

Sewa International (www.sewausa.org) is a 501 (c)(3) Hindu faith-based charitable nonprofit that works in the areas of disaster recovery, education, and development. Sewa has 43 Chapters across the USA and serves regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin.

 

Houston, TX (February 28, 2022): As the conflict in Ukraine continues, and hundreds of thousands flee the country, Sewa International in the USA has started a helpline to assist international students stranded in the country, arranging transportation to the nearest border post, and providing food and shelter during their journey. So far, over 4,000 students have already registered on Sewa International’s helpline and the Sewa volunteers are in touch with another 400 people to help them evacuate.

Sewa Europe, an independent partner organization, and the Hindu Swayamsevak Sangh (HSS) are working in ten Ukrainian cities to assist people affected by the war. On February 26, Sewa Europe helped a group of 150 students to travel from Vinnitsa to Chernovtsy by bus. At Chernovtsy Sewa provided them shelter, food, and transport for their onward journey to the Romanian border.

 

“Sewa International is immediately releasing $10,000 for the Ukrainian relief efforts and started a Facebook fundraising campaign to help people who are threatened by this humanitarian crisis. The messages and videos we are getting from the war zone show the fear, anxiety, and danger people are facing as they run to safety. As the global Sewa network rises to face this challenge, I request people to support Sewa International in this rescue effort,” Arun Kankani, President, Sewa International, USA said.

“The war between Russia and Ukraine has affected all people in the region and caused serious distress in a world that is still struggling to recover from the COVID-19 pandemic. Sewa International in the USA, and, HSS volunteers in Europe, the US, and India are receiving hundreds of messages seeking help from people who are stuck in the war zone,” he said.

Sewa Europe has released an evacuation checklist to advise people about the most essential items to carry. It lists passport and visa documents, flashlight, five liters of drinking water, match box, winter jacket, sleeping bag, dry fruits and snacks, and COVID-19 vaccine certificates.

To register for assistance, Sewa is asking people to fill in the online form at -- https://bit.ly/SewaUkraineHelpline -- and more information related to Sewa’s Ukraine relief efforts directing people to their https://linktr.ee/sewaeurope, https://www.facebook.com/SewaEuropeOfficial or https://www.instagram.com/sewaeurope/sites.

According to official estimates, about 18,000 Indian students are studying in universities across Ukraine. Due to the Russia-Ukraine conflict, they are currently stranded, facing a severe shortage of food, and are in dire need of transport and shelter. The Indian Embassy in Kyiv is advising these students on how to reach country’s western borders to reach Poland, Romania, or Hungary from where they can board Air India flights specially operated by the Indian Government to reach India.    

 

About Sewa International

Sewa International (www.sewausa.org) is a 501 (c)(3) Hindu faith-based charitable nonprofit that works in the areas of disaster recovery, education, and development. Sewa has 43 Chapters across the USA and serves regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin.

 

Houston, TX (January 21, 2022): Benevity Inc., the leading provider of global corporate purpose software, ranked Sewa International among the top of charitable organizations supported by companies and their employees in 2021. In 2020 Sewa International was ranked 375 in Benevity’s list, and at 690 in 2019.

Benevity announced on January 20, 2022, its list of the annual top 10 causes receiving support from companies, including those that offer matching funds to employee contributions, demonstrating that the pandemic and other global events and crises influenced the generous attitude of corporations and their employees. “We are grateful to these companies and their thousands of employees who thought it fit to offer their generous support to Sewa International. They saw in us both our dedication to serving humanity as well as the will, the enterprise, and the commitment to delivering support efficiently, quickly, and professionally in a time of crisis by our volunteers and mission-oriented staff. This recognition of our work and of our standing will energize us to rededicate our efforts to come to the aid of society in times of crises here in the US and around the world,” said Arun Kankani, President, Sewa International.

According to Benevity, five of the top ten causes from 2020 remained on the list in 2021, while health-focused non-profits, including national and state cancer societies, the Leukemia & Lymphoma Society, and Planned Parenthood, returned to the top 10 in 2021. “When the Delta variant hit India last year, we saw companies and their employees mobilize to help,” said Birger Stamperdahl, Give2Asia’s President and CEO. “Their generosity made lifesaving projects possible that delivered oxygen concentrators, protective gear for health workers and emergency food rations to those hit hardest by the pandemic.”

About Sewa International

Sewa International (www.sewausa.org) is a 501 (c)(3) Hindu faith-based charitable nonprofit that works in the areas of disaster recovery, education, and development. Sewa has 43 Chapters across the USA and serves regardless of race, color, religion, sex, age, disability, or national origin.