Dandenong is the region in Victoria, Melbourne, Australia with the most number of homeless people.

When this fact was brought to the attention of members of the Victoria East Region Service Wing, they were startled. Something had to be done to help. They put forward an idea to start a meal service in this area. Through Swami's grace, the Sai organisation of Victoria got permission from the Dandenong  Council to conduct a meal service, which commenced in July 2010 in conjunction with Gurupurnima celebrations.

The Council allocated the market's foyer for this activity. Over time, the Council provided help in things like power and storage for this service, since it was going so well and they were happy with what was being done.

This weekly activity commences at 7.30pm every Tuesday. It is supported by most of the centres located in the East region of Victoria. The food being prepared is made in a pure, loving, careful manner, and a lot of love is poured into preparing these meals. The food is then packed and delivered to the market to be served to the people. Along with food, hot drinks such as coffee, tea, and Milo are provided, as well as juices and soups.

Many of the recipients have expressed their gratitude for the meals. They show their appreciation when they are leaving by giving hugs, handshakes, or just a simple thank you. Leftover food is given to those who would like to take it for their family or friends, and the balance from this is then handed over to another service organisation, which provides food on all days of the week.

We celebrate Christmas with carols and special food items and Swami’s birthday is also celebrated in a special manner.

This is a service offering to Swami, and the volunteers benefit through the transformation that is taking place within themselves by serving.

An example of what loving selfless service can do

One evening when we were serving food, a person told us how miserable life was after losing his family and everything he had. Life was very frustrating for him, and he was totally down. He asked us the name of this Organisation, saying he could not believe the happiness in the people who were serving and wanted to know the reason. We told him that our Organisation is not a religious organisation but a Spiritual Organisation, where we do our best to follow one of the sayings of our Teacher : 'Love all, Serve all' and 'Help ever, Hurt never'. We suggested he develop confidence in himself and have faith in God —whoever he believes in.

After a month, he came to us and said that after listening to the advice we had given him he had started to believing in himself again, and within a few days he had found a job and was earning a living again. He is now sharing his experience with other less fortunate people whom he knows and helping them to move forward.

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