CALAMITY RELIEF
The Art of Living in association with its sister organisations, The International Association for Human Values (IAHV) and Vyakti Vikas Kendra India (VVKI), has been actively engaged in providing physical, mental and material relief in areas affected by acts of natural disaster and violence.
Under the guidance of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar ji, an extremely effective and dynamic three-stage model has been established to provide calamity relief that includes:
- Immediate Material Aid and Service – provision of food, clothing, medicine and shelter.
- Near-Term Trauma Relief – alleviating post-traumatic stress
- Long-Term Rehabilitation – rehabilitating disaster victims and providing them homes, sanitation systems, roads, schools, vocational training centers and other necessary infrastructure.
Significant Initiatives:
Within two hours of Cyclone Aila hitting the Sunderbans, Art of Living volunteers reached the affected areas and began rescuing people and providing them with material and medical aid along with stress-elimination breathing techniques.
Flood relief efforts have been undertaken when the need arose across various states in the country including in Mumbai (July 2005), Surat (August 2006), Bihar (September 2008) and Karnataka (September 2009). In Bihar, the Art of Living conducted relief work worth Rs 100 million (US$2.2 million).
South-East Asia Tsunami (December 2004) - In Nagapattinam in Southern India, more than 50,000 people benefited from Art of Living’s initiatives. The Art of Living was declared the head of trauma relief operations by the collectorate of Nagapattinam. More than 500 volunteers worked selflessly to provide aid to victims of the tragedy.
After the Gujarat earthquake of 2001, the Art of Living built a high school, a hostel and 15 temporary schools. Volunteers reached out to more than 100,000 people in 120 villages through its trauma relief programs. In Nana Dahishar, the village was fully rebilt with 124 earthquake-resistant homes, a multi-purpose community center, a primary healthcare centre, village government centre, a primary school, a place of worship, water tank, water supply system and drainage system.
Art of Living volunteers have been actively working in Vidarbha to prevent farmr suicides.
By contributing to the Dharma Sthamba Yojana you too can participate in the process of providing relief to innocent victims of natural disasters and help create happiness in the lives of many.
