Kalgidhar Charitable Trust - Please help

[shaheediyan]

http://www.kalgidharsociety.org/cause/cause.asp

http://www.kalgidharsociety.org/location/location.asp

http://www.kalgidharsociety.org/performance/performance.asp

http://www.kalgidharsociety.org/news/ev.asp

This is one place I would wholeheartedly ask sangat to donate to, they are the same people who run the famous Baru Sahib.

They perform an amazing indiscriminatory seva for all types of unfortunate people in the surrounding area. We need real sevadaar organisations like this to expand and for international sangat to support them as much as possible.

Vaheguru

[shaheediyan]

The Kalgidhar Society Holds Free Medical Camp at Baru Sahib

On Friday, March 28, 2008, The Kalgidhar Society launched the first Free Medical Camp of 2008 at its 200-bed Akal Charitable Hospital in Baru Sahib, Dist. Sirmore, Himachal Predesh. Held five or six times a year since 2000, these Free Medical Camps, believed to be the largest in India, serve rural poor primarily Hindu villagers from areas such as the Solan, Shimla and Sirmore Districts of H.P.

By the conclusion of this 2-day Camp, some 1500 of this area’s underprivileged will have been treated at the state-of-the-art medical and surgical facility. Patients and their families travel by car, bus, horse or on foot, some from as far away as 100 km, to receive free treatments that would normally cost up to one lakh rupees.

More than 100 doctors and other medical professionals, including specialists in plastic surgery, ear-nose-and-throat, gynecology, anesthesiology, dental surgery, pharmacology, pathology, nursing, physical therapy and hospital administration, have travelled from as far away as the U.S. and some of the far-flung states of India to volunteer their services. Others have come from neighboring areas such as Dr. Anil S. Narang, Head of Pediatrics, PGI, Chandigarh, Dr. Charanjeev Singh, a plastic surgeon from Jalandhar and Dr. K. S. Mehta, a dermatologist from Dharamshala.

Many of these professionals have returned to serve at the Free Medical Camps year after year. Dr. G. P. Singh from Jalandhar, who has come every year since 1998, has played an on-going leadership role since 2000 and has been instrumental in the growth of the Camps. “I come each year and recharge my batteries by serving the needy in these communities and spending time with the extraordinary sevadars who come repeatedly. We have become like a family and talk all through the year planning for the next Camp.â€

In addition to the free medical checkups and treatments, dental care, surgical procedures and post-operative medical care all patients receive regardless of religious faith or social status, the family members who accompany the patients receive free accommodations and meals, “all in the Sikh spirit of Guru Gobind Singh who said, ‘Manas ki jaat, sab ek pahchanbo’ (Recognize all humans as of one caste)â€, said Hon’able Baba Iqbal Singh, President of The Kalgidhar Society, which covers the Rs 40 Lakh cost of each Camp.

The Camp was formally inaugurated by S. Hari Narain Singh Ji, MLA from Nalagarh. Mr. Rajiv Bindal, Himachal Pradesh’s Health Minister visited the second day to witness the work being done at the Camp. Minister Bindal was highly appreciative of the extraordinary community health services provided at the Medical Camp and of the special effort made by the doctors who had travelled all the way from the U.S.: Dr. Shanon Harris, a gynecologist from Minneapolis, Minnesota; Dr. Marie Njoku and Dr. Jasjit Kaur Atwal, both anesthesiologists from Baltimore, Maryland; and Dr. Rameet Kaur Singh, a gynecologist also from Maryland. He said, “I am overwhelmed by the commitment and devotion of the people who have set up a gurukul environment like this.†He also recalled the sacrifices of Guru Gobind Singh for Hindus and the country, reciting a beautiful poem about the younger shahbzadas of Guru Gobind Singh and he promised all help from the H. P. government in the Society’s endeavors.

The Kalgidhar Society is a multifaceted socio-spiritual, educational organization serving underprivileged rural communities in the areas of education, women’s empowerment, holistic health, drug deaddiction, social reforms, and rural development.

For more information about The Kalgidhar Society, please visit www.kalgidharsociety.org.

[tonyhp32]

Thanks Shaheediyan.

I will certainly try and visit their headquarters the next time I am in India and make a donation. Btw I think it would be a good idea to ask the Sikh Sangat guys if they would do a Sikhgiving project on behalf of KCT.

[shaheediyan]

Seminar on "Values-based Education" organized at Ludhiana.

Date: 04/22/2008

News Source: http://www.kalgidharsociety.org

In a grave situation of many ills including drug abuse, alcoholism, illiteracy, unemployment plaguing the youth of Punjab, The Kalgidhar Trust organized a seminar on ‘Value-based education’ on April 20, 2008 at Pal auditorium of Punjab Agriculture University, Ludhiana. The seminar was attended by the Literati and the ‘who’s who’ of Ludhiana. Mr. Satyanandji Munjal of Hero group and Dr. MS Kang (VC, PAU) graced the occasion with their benign presence blessed with the divine presence of Baba Iqbal Singh Ji (President, The Kalgidhar Trust).

The speakers at the seminar expressed serious concern over the alarming rise in drug abuse, especially among the youth, and called for launching a crusade against the menace, which is posing a serious threat to the social system.

The seminar started with a documentary ‘The Valley of Divine Peace – Baru Sahib’ through which the audience was apprised with the mission and the ongoing philanthropic activities of The Kalgidhar Trust. Then Maj. Gen. R.S. Chhatwal (Retd.), in his warm welcome address, said that the Trust was engaged in the spread of education among rural children of Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Rajasthan and Himachal Pradesh. "Baba Iqbal Singh Ji, after his retirement from the post of Director of Agriculture, Himachal Pradesh, started first Akal Academy at Baru Sahib in 1986 with just five children. Today, the Trust runs several academies all over Northern India, a 200-bed charitable hospital, old age home, orphanage, home for widows & destitutes, de-addiction centers and many other social-welfare and educational institutions," he added.

It was followed by a fine performance of a musical symphony with ancient string instruments – Tanti Saaz by the students from Akal Academy. The audience was spellbound with the breathtaking performance of the mystically absorbed white swathed young students, who presented a divine, soulful, stirring and heart-touching Shabad in Asa Raag. The audience was requested to stand up and cover their heads in reverence to Guru Ji's Shabad.

While speaking on the occasion, Mr. Satyanandji Munjal said, “I am greatly impressed by the various activities being undertaken by The Kalgidhar Trust for the welfare of the society. Organizations like The Kalgidhar Trust are rare who are working selflessly for the deprived and underprivileged rural people. There is a great hope for the rural people of Northern India as the Trust is establishing 150 schools and many other educational institutions in the next few years.â€

In his keynote address on ‘value-based education’, Dr. MS Kang said, “The value-based education is the need of the hour.†Defining the term value, he said, “’The term ‘Value’ is intangible. To me, value means good morals and good character. Unfortunately, our value system is crumbling today. Intolerance is rampant. We hardly give any thought to the building of character. It's important that value-based education be introduced in all education institutions." “Discipline is one of the foremost components that shape our lifeâ€, he added.

Next, the gathering was taken through a virtual tour through a PowerPoint presentation – ‘The Journey So Far and The Road Ahead' in which detailed statistics and the vast magnitude of work done by the Kalgidhar Trust were displayed. The present and the future projects of Baru Sahib were statistically unlaid in front of the audience.

Then Baba Iqbal Singh Ji enlightened the audience with his Saadh Bachan. He said, “Education and literacy are different terms. The worldly education makes people literate, but value-based education makes people good human creating a better society to live in. The Kalgidhar Trust is committed to spread the mission of Sant Attar Singh Ji and Sant Teja Singh Ji. Sant Attar Singh Ji established a school for girls and enunciated the mission in 1906 of establishing permanent peace in the world through value-based education and spiritual rejuvenation creating good global citizens.†"Western culture has destroyed our own Indian culture." he further said. Exhorting the youth to shun drugs, he said that we must strive to build a society free of vices.

He added, “The vision of setting up of 150 new schools, 25 colleges and the Eternal University is the whole community's project and it would require the understanding and support of allâ€. He beseeched the Sangat to give shoulder to the Akal Education Fund so that Guru Nanak's mission could be furthered. He urged all to join hands with The Kalgidhar Trust for tackling the various social evils by rendering their time, expertise and knowledge to accomplish this gigantic task.

The vote of thanks was delivered by Dr. Khem Singh (Padma Bhushan, Former VC, PAU , Ludhiana).