Introduction

Sikkim State is near the mighty Himalayan Mountains and borders China. One of the villages, Mungrang, was selected to receive help. Mungrang is 35 km from the district headquarters, Namchi, and the village consists of 45 families, with a total population of 200 people. Previously the village was not connected by road to the district headquarters, and the only transport service was by head-load transportation. All had to reach the village on foot.

Project details

Volunteers of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation in Sikkim (SSSO-Sikkim) took up this village for selfless service work in 2003, extending a helping hand based on actual needs from that year onward. Initially, volunteers had to walk for almost 1.5 hours; later, a vehicle road was constructed and people did not have to face this problem. The village is in a totally backward area and is declared as a drought zone; drinking water is very scarce due to there being no natural source. The people have to travel 5–6 km from the village to fetch water. The cattle were given water only once every three days due to this scarcity of water.

Three-wing operation

This village was adopted by the Namchi Samithi (district Sai group), and several programmes under the three wings of the Organisation (spiritual, service, and educational) were carried out. With God’s blessing, many projects were completed. The villagers were helped on a needs basis, and they were very happy to receive the love and selfless service offered by the Sathya Sai Seva Organisation.

Step 1: Home construction

This project started in 2003, with both lady and gent volunteers taking active roles in constructing a house for a very poor Sri Kamal Mangar in 35 days’ time. Along with home construction, other service activities were taken up — distributing clothes and utensils to 18 families and providing child care service for 55 children. A house belonging to an aged lady was repaired and cleaned, and the lady was shifted to the new house.

Step 2: Community centre

On 14 May 2004, Sri Kamal Mangar donated a parcel of land measuring 35’ x 24’ for the construction of a community centre, to provide a focal point for social development of the village. Such a centre is a necessity for public activities —including spiritual programmes and morality and human values classes for the children. The construction took time but was finished successfully in 2007. Adjacent toilets were also constructed by the volunteers. That year, celebrations honoring the 82^nd birthday of Sri Sathya Sai Baba were held in the community centre, and it was a grand success.  

Public toilet

Land measuring 30’ x 25’ was donated by one of the villagers  in 2006 for the construction of the public latrines. During the course of the construction work, about 60 male and 42 female volunteers  participated in and completed this noble work.

 Step 3: Rain-water harvesting tank

Since there was such an acute shortage of water, volunteers took on the further task of constructing a rain-water harvesting tank, with the view that this project could help solve one of the villagers’ most critical problems. Accordingly, in June 2008, a plot of land measuring 20’x 30’ was donated by Sri D. P. Mangar for the construction of the tank. The work started, and with the grace and blesings of God, this project has almost been completed. It was most encouraging that about 100 volunteers (both gents and ladies) took part in this construction work; they felt blessed to have the great opportunity to participate in this village development work.

Conclusion

Regular spiritual activities are taking place in the community centre, such as community devotional singing, and running smoothly. Children’s moral and human values classes (bal vikas) are also continuing to be held in the community centre. Medical camps, health awareness camps, and other service activities are being carried out regularly. It is prayed that God’s divine blessings rest on the people of this remote village, so that they may not face any problems in the future. May Sathya Sai Baba bless them with happiness and glorious lives, and may their children be happy.

Additional Info

Project Coordinator: Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation-Sikkim

Contact Person: Sri Ratan Pradhan, State President, Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation-Sikkim: sairatna_skm@yahoo.co.in 

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