Sadhu Vaswani was in the matriculation class when a poor man came to him asking for a blanket. Before he could fetch his blanket, his teacher said to him, “Why give him a blanket? He will go and sell it. Give him instead a rupee coin and he will feel happy.”
Sadhu Vaswani, in a spirit of obedience, gave the poor man a rupee coin. The poor man went away happy, but Sadhu Vaswani said he could not sleep the whole of that night, sad at the thought of not having given his blanket to the poor man in the cold of winter.
(Excerpt: Sadhu Vaswani - Life and Teachings by Rev. Dada J.P. Vaswani)
Indeed then, of what help shall a rupee be in the icy, bitter colds of December!
In this spirit, Sadhu Vaswani Mission volunteers set out to spread the warmth of the Masters to the poor and needy at Khandala; where the winters are stinging, long and severe to the villagers in the hills.
11th December 2020, the Mission volunteers set out in a self-driven car in the early hours of the day marking the beginning of ‘Blanket Sevas at Khandala’.
“The mercury levels have been dropping drastically. If Pune has been shivering in the morning hours one can imagine the state of Khandala which is on a high altitude with an expanse of open space! Therefore, this Ekadashi and as a part of Beloved Dada J.P. Vaswani’s Yagna Day, the Mission decided to distribute blankets to our needy elders and sisters from the woodcutters’ community at Khandala,” said a Mission volunteer.
The Khandala team supervised by Lal Advani shortlisted villages that are in dire need of blankets and volunteers from Pune set out with the necessary material. Pre-packed, loaded and stacked neatly for quick distribution, the car travelled through the difficult terrains.
“The response was overwhelming! The senior citizens and ladies who received the blankets were thrilled and immensely grateful for the timely and thoughtful aid. We felt thankful to have been blessed by our seniors. The bonus here was the little ones to whom we distributed joy packets! They couldn’t contain their happiness and were dancing about in joy! It was a sight to behold and one that lit up our faces with smiles! It was an experience to cherish!”
11th December 2020, Sadhu Vaswani Mission distributed 120 blankets to senior citizens and ladies from the villages of Khareli Katkarwadi, Jhambrung Thakarwadi and Takayi Katkarwadi. 100+ joy packets were given to the kids of the village.
18th December 2020, in round two of the seva, the Mission distributed 115 blankets to senior citizens from the villages of Jangamwadi, Kumbewadi and Mahard. Joypackets to children consisting of 2 chiwda packets and 2 biscuit packets were also distributed.
As on 18th December 2020, the Mission has distributed a total of 235 blankets to senior citizens in 6 villages of Khandala.
The Mission will continue to reach out to more villages in the following months of winter.