On September 14, 2012, during the 12th Asian Achievers Awards held at London, Sarvam was provided a wonderful opportunity to take its message of ‘sustainable, transformational and integral rural community development’ beyond the boundaries and borders of India to the global audience.
Renowned film actor Hema Malini, the Ambassador of Sarvam, was a special guest . While speaking about her connection with Sri Aurobindo, she stated: “How am I connected to Sri Aurobindo Society? I have a very beautiful connection because of my Guru Maa Indiradeviji and Shri Dilip Kumar Roy, who are disciples of Sri Aurobindo. I was told some years back when Pondicherry Ashram needed some funding. Dadaji [Shri Dilip Kumar Roy], who was a very great singer, sang at various places and collected funds… . If such great people can do so much work, why not you and me? This prompted me to be a part of Sarvam. I immediately spoke to Vijaybhai that ‘I want to adopt a village, somewhere in the north of India, and be a part of Sarvam. I also want both my daughters, Esha and Ahana, to be part of it.’ If we all can adopt one village, what a beautiful future we can bring for our nation [India]. I am here to support Sarvam, to be a part of Sarvam.”
Sarvam was represented by Vijay Poddar, Member Executive, Sri Aurobindo Society, who during his presentation said: “Sarvam is a unique rural development project not only because it seeks to empower the community and to create a model which is sustainable, replicable and scalable, but also because it is integral in its approach, embracing all aspects of village life such as education, health, livelihoods, housing, and tries to base itself on deeper values, where the outer transformation is the expression of an inner change. In Sarvam there are no benefactors and no beneficiaries. We are all partners in development, supporting, helping and learning from each other.”
Leave a Reply