Youth Seva Activity in Fiji
The youth members of the Sai Prema Foundation Fiji visited Dilkusha, an orphanage home, on Saturday the 21st of January. Dilkusha is home to 37 children with the youngest being 9 months of age who had joined the rest of the children just a few weeks prior to the visit. As most of the children had just started school a week ago, the youth felt that it was appropriate to give children back to school stationary packs, food items and a treat as well as spending some quality time with them.
The young ones were very eager to see who had arrived at their doorstep. As the youth entered the hall, the residents poured into the main hall from their rooms and playgrounds. Their faces were beaming with joy. Their hearts full of pure love. And their smiles … Priceless!
The elders and caretakers welcomed the Youth and what started off as a small request for them to sing a song turned into a mini concert! Their welcome song was a prayer from their heart for their beloved Jesus and they sang about how blessed they were. It brought tears to the eyes of the youth. The tiny tots then arose from their feet and began a song full of action. It wasn’t long before the youth flung their chairs and went on to the dance floor, singing and dancing to the tunes of these beautiful Divine children.
It didn’t take long for the youth to the realize that the real recipients were them for they were given so much love and joy by the children for whom the only solace was God and the company of their peers. Despite the fact that they were orphaned, their spirit, faith and attitude towards life was an eye opener. It was a learning experience for the youth. The songs came to an abrupt halt when the ice creams were brought out. The children treated themselves to healthy servings to soothe themselves from a hot and humid afternoon and an energetic music concert too … the caregivers were busy with having an afternoon off and so the children took full advantage by helping themselves to up to three serves! Pure joy, for both the giver and the receiver!
The youth also presented the caregivers with supplies for the week including fresh fruits, fruit juices, milk and more ice cream! This gesture was much appreciated.
The afternoon moved into a more formal mode as every youth member then individually handed out “Back to School” packs. The children were excited to receive exercise books, a pencil case with pencils, pens, eraser, ruler, sharpener and other stationary items. At the end of this, a group “selfie” was taken which was received with much excitement.
Three children accompanied the Youth of the Sai Prema Foundation and one of them was an 8-year old girl. When she was told about this visit to the orphanage home, she made it a resolve to gift the children of her age storybooks and soft toys. She personally presented these gifts to the utter delight of the children. She herself was ecstatic that she had contributed to such a noble cause and stated that she was looking forward to many more of these visits.
During the interaction with the children, one of the youth members who is also a General practitioner noticed that many children had skin infections and dental caries. Upon discussion with the caregivers, it was noted that there were occasional visits by the nursing team from the nearby health center however the last visit had been a long time ago. One of the other youth members also felt that the home could be provided with soap packs and advised on hygiene and cleanliness. Yet another youth, a qualified Dietician, also spoke about the need to educate the caregivers about nutritional advice so that the children were given a balanced diet. Hence, the decision was made to visit the children in the coming days and the Medical Personnel of the Sai Prema Foundation would give them a medical and dental check up.
The youth felt much gratitude to swami for giving them all wonderful caring parents and a loving home. In the heart of many was the prayer that these beautiful children find a loving and caring family who are willing to take them home and look after them as their own children. As Mother Teresa said, “Not all of us can do great things, but we can do small things with great love”. The youth were rejuvenated after this and were thankful to Swami for this opportunity to serve his precious children.