A yearly service project of renovating a nonprofit social service center is conducted by the Sathya Sai Baba Center of Ojai, California. As part of this project, Young Adults (YAs) from both the Ojai and Santa Barbara Centers, along with some parents and other adults, helped finish the renovations of the Community Assistance Program (CAP) building in downtown Ojai by painting door frames and thresholds and applying a second coat of paint to the back wall of the building.

The CAP Program

The CAP provides basic needs and case management services for the homeless in the Ojai Valley. It provides daily lunches, laundry, food, shower, phone and message service, mail, medical referrals, eviction prevention funds, special help during Thanksgiving and Christmas, and employment and referral services to homeless individuals and families. In the first six months of 2012, CAP assisted more than 100 homeless individuals, distributed more than 700 lunches, assisted with 125 utility payments, and gave out more than 165 boxes of food.

The goal of the CAP is to meet the immediate needs of the homeless while helping them achieve long-term stability. The following quote from one of their members provides insight into how the work of the CAP program touches the hearts of homeless community:

“When my husband was laid off from his job, we thought he would find something else soon, and we would be all right. One month became two months, and there wasn’t any work out there. Rent was right around the corner. What was I going to do? I don’t want my kids to be homeless. CAP saved my life by paying our rent. Without that help, we would be on the streets.”

Volunteers Story

The YA volunteers, Evan and Iggy Sharp and Tara Saylor, had been students of the Sai Spiritual Educare (SSE) [1] classes held in our home when they were young children. Iggy asked me if I thought it was a weird coincidence that we were together again after so many years, now that they were all grown up. It was certainly a divine “co-inSAIdence” and a great pleasure to work side-by-side with these former students, now adults, and to see how great they all turned out.­

The Message

Many are familiar with the following quotes of Sai Baba: “The hands that serve are holier than the lips that pray [2] and “Service to man is service to God” [3], but one lesson I learned from this project had more to do with how important it is to “serve the servants.” Sometimes we might not be able to receive the heart-to-heart satisfaction of giving directly to those in need, but by helping and supporting people and organizations that do so, such as CAP, we help them continue their good work.

The other lesson had to do with teaching SSE. Being an SSE teacher is also like serving the servants. As a teacher, you have no idea what will take root in the kids you try to serve in your class, but one day you might get the opportunity, as I did, to actually witness them, as adults, serving others. So, in essence, SSE teachers are serving future servants. It’s a great feeling, thinking you might have played a small part in that.

Additional Info

[1] About SSE: Sai Spiritual Education (SSE) develops good character in children through the practice of truth, virtuous conduct (right action), love, peace, and nonviolence. Children learn and engage in: respect for all paths to God; respect for parents, elders, and peers; kindness in words and actions; selfless service; nonwaste of time, food, money, and energy; and a host of related exemplary virtues.

[2] Sri Sathya Sai Baba, 1 Jan 2004 (pdf)

[3] Sri Sathya Sai Baba, 5 Dec 1964 (pdf)

To learn more about or join this service project, you may go to: http://us.sathyasai.org/index.htmland click on the state or city in which the Sai Center project takes place. Click on “Email us for information about these Centers.” A local contact will respond to your email.

Keywords

Community Assistance Program (CAP) | Ojai, California | USA Region 8 | homeless community | Sathya Sai Baba Center of Ojai CA | Sai Spiritual Education – SSE | building repair

Project Details

Project start: 06/01/11

Project completion: 08/31/11

Stage of development:

Zone name: US. Canada, West Indies, Israel

Lat/Longitude: 34° 26' N -119° 14' W

Affiliation: Sathya Sai Center of Ojai, CA

Service category: Home building/repair

Author: John Harrison

Project leader: John Harrison