Encounters with Hunger
The Panshet Adventures in Seva
23 Villages | 83,880 meals
Epilogue:
“We were on our way to carry out the ration kits distribution and it was about 4 pm. The terrains are in the mountainous regions and we found ourselves in the middle of nowhere. As we looked around, there were few hutments at a distance. Our stomachs had begun to rumble with hunger, and we were looking for an eatery to fill ourselves. Not finding any eatery, and after much discussion amongst us, we decided to approach one of the villagers. Hesitantly we knocked at one door and said, ‘Can we please have something to eat?’ The answer we got was numbing, ‘Sir, what shall give you, we have nothing for ourselves here.’ We looked at each other for a moment, rushed to our van and ended up carrying out a distribution here. A few blocks later, we spotted an eatery and had our fill of Maharashtrian traditional food — bhakri and pitla. We ate in silence; every morsel of the food reminded us of how hunger feels like, it left us pained with the thought of how countless people go hungry, every day. Maybe, it was Beloved Dada who sent us to that household and the many others he reaches out for it is he alone who knows what they go through. That day, we returned home with our hunger met and more so, a satisfied heart.”
1st July 2020: The Journey Continues
Sadhu Vaswani Mission, realising the need of the villagers who remain out of employment for reasons of the pandemic, persevered in its efforts to carry out sevas in the Mangaon/Panshet villages. Starting as early as 7:00 am, volunteers embarked on their journey to serve the villagers. With loaded vehicles and devoted hearts, the round two of Panshet sevas continued. In the second round of the Panshet sevas the Mission distributed 175 ration kits to the villagers.
Recalling the seva experience, a volunteer says, “The roads and terrains were rough and extremely difficult. While the scenic beauty was enthralling, the task at hand was to reach out to the villagers. Besides, every village is located at a distance of half an hour to 45 minutes. In all our earlier sevas, we had the benefit of having the villagers ready for distribution before we got there; all the back-end work was handled on the local level. But these villages are so remotely located and inaccessible there is no way of communicating before we actually get there. So, upon reaching these areas, we have to gather the villagers as a self-effort and then begin the distribution. But the smile that we see in their eyes and the gratitude that is shown in their mannerisms is refreshing. We find all our exhaustion melts before their love.”
6th July 2020: The Journey Concludes
Sadhu Vaswani Mission volunteers in a day-long seva effort distributed 76 kits in villages of Panshet. “We covered 4 villages today but it took all our day. We returned late into the night. It so happens that if you wish to access a particular village and then move to the next, you have to go all the way back for your road is blocked either by a river or is simply inaccessible. In this back and forth we managed to complete the Panshet sevas. Around 5 in the evening it had begun to turn dark and with the roads being utterly deserted, we had to quicken the distribution. Monsoons have also set in and washed away most of the roads. It was indeed a difficult ride but when we see elderly people abandoned by their children and find their hope and food in the Mission, we find the journey worthy every minute, every bit!”
A journey that involved venturing into the remotest and inaccessible villages of Panshet in the district of Velhe came to a conclude on 6th July 2020. As on 6th July 2020, a total of 466 ration kits were distributed in 23 villages of Panshet. #karunaseva #sevadiaries #coronawarriors