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Press Release
Varanasi, 21 February 2008
One hundred thousand children are scheduled to be covered per year under “Healthy Children Strong India- Kashi’s 20/20 Program” through free medical check-ups, free distribution of medicine & awareness education. H.H. Sai Maa Lakshmi Devi, 'Mataji' calls all of our society to join and support this Campaign.
H.H. Sai Maa Lakshimi Devi addressing a press conference on “Healthy Children Strong India- Kashi’s 20/20 Program” in the seminar hall of the Gandhi Adhayayanpith, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, said, “We are resolved to love, to serve, to ensure the future health and well being of our children, the custodians of this planet. These beautiful children are to be strong and powerful. They are to fulfill their dharma, the purpose for which they have incarnated, in a healthy and vibrant body.” She continued, “We are to see childhood blindness eradicated from this land, from across the planet. Parasites are to be eliminated from the bodies of these children so they can absorb and use Vitamin A and the nutrients that vitalize the body and prevent disease.”
Mataji said, “Yes, we are providing medicine and vitamins. We are also providing information, education of families, parents and children about hygiene, how they can be responsible for their well being now and for many years to come. Education, awareness, responsibility, mastery, these are key to long-term health and well being, to the transformation of individual beings and communities, to the evolution of humanity.”
Mataji said, “Let us continue to work together, to co-create, to collaborate. Let us devote ourselves to producing healthy, vibrant children, to informing and educating parents and children, to supporting families to take responsibility for their own health and well being. To serve these children and their families, we have created the "Sai Maa Vishnu Shakti Trust" for growth and prosperity in Varanasi and the surrounding areas. The aforesaid is its first program.”
Marilyn Tam, Founder and president, Us Foundation, said, “To support the well being and education of all children, who represent our future, is the most important thing we can do. It is also the most inspiring and rewarding thing we can do. We are blessed to live on our beautiful planet and we have a responsibility to work towards creating a sustainable and healthy planet for our future generations. I feel privileged and thankful that as the Founder and President of Us Foundation, I have the opportunity to work with all the wonderful people and organizations to support the health and welfare of the children of Varanasi through the vitamin A and de-worming program.”
Marilyn said, “Us Foundation is a global public charity based in Santa Barbara, California USA. We are dedicated to creating more harmony and understanding between people and the planet. We do that by focusing on four main topics, youth issues, education for all ages, environmental issues and the conditions for peace.”
Explaining her main work Marilyn said that Us Foundation is to connect with other similarly motivated organizations and people to work together to bring about true and lasting peace and well-being for all beings and for the planet. The Vitamin Angels Alliance, our global partner in health and nutrition, support has generously donated and organized the delivery of all the vitamin A and de-worming medicine for 100,000 children in this Varanasi program.
Howard Schiffer, Founder and President, Vitamin Angels Alliance said, “Kids are our future, but they are suffering from health. On September 13th, 2007, the Los Angeles Times in a feature story noted that for the first time since the 1960's when record keeping started, the number of children under five years old who are dying every year has dropped below ten million. Since a high of over 20 million deaths per year in 1960, deaths last year dropped to 9.7 million.”
In this context expressing his two reactions Howard said, “The second is great-progress! But the first is how are we letting 9.7 million children die every year? Especially when the underlying cause in over ½ of all childhood deaths for children under 5 is chronic malnutrition.”
“People will finally accept that the death of a child in the developing world is just as tragic as the death of a child in the developed world.”
“This is something that we should all be indignant about. In 2008, we should all be indignant about any child on the planet dying from chronic malnutrition. 9.7 million children dying every year is better than 20 million and yet is not still 9.7 million too many? It is time to say no more and the time to say it is now.”
Howard said, “Operation 20/20, the flagship of Vitamin Angels, vitamin A and de-worming campaign, reached 5.5 million children in 2007 in 17 countries. For these children not only will they not go blind due to Vitamin A deficiency, but their immunes systems will be stronger so they will not be vulnerable to dying from a common illness like measles or something as simple as diarrhea. Our goal for 2008 is to reach 7.5 million children.”
Dr. Ashok Rai, Joint Secretary, I.M.A.-U.P. and Swami Parmeshwarananda also presented their views regarding "Healthy Children Strong India" 20/20 Kashi's Program.
Director of Gandhi Adhyayanpith, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith, Dr. Ram Prakash Dwivedi informed us that the inaugural session of the “Healthy Children Strong India-Kashi’s 20/20 program” will be held on 22 Feb. at 10.30 a.m. in the Auditorium of Gandhi Adhyayanpith, Mahatma Gandhi Kashi Vidyapith. Medical check-ups of the children will be done by the reputed Doctors of IMA-U.P. More than 1000 children will be attended to during this session.
Convener of this program Dr. Ravi Prakash Pandey informed us that the program team will go to Happy Model School, Raj English School and other institutions on 23rd Feb. to conduct programs. On 24th Feb. from 10.00 to 12.00 the team will visit Sai Maa Vishnu Shakti Trust-Shri Satuwa Baba Ashram, Sagar Semer, Mirzapur and from 2.30 to 5.00 p.m. at Shri Ram Janki Anupam Hanuman Temple, Kathinai, Mirzapur. Beside this the children of 40 Centers of Identity being run in the slum areas as well as the children of Sant Ravidas Educational Institute will also be covered in this campaign. In total 100,000 children will get the benefit of this campaign in one year.
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