Charitable services at Ashvin Navratri 2022
Nawan Nagar, October 2022
Over the years, Vishav Manav Ruhani Kendra (VMRK) has consistently offered free food, accommodation, and medical services around the clock at all its devotional festivals. This year during the Ashvin Navratri festival, VMRK offered even more charity programs at Nawan Nagar and surrounding areas.
At the VMRK center in Nawan Nagar, free food, accommodation, and professional medical care were available 24 hours daily, and blood donation camps were organized in collaboration with the blood bank teams of various government hospitals.
In the villages and slums in surrounding communities, VMRK provided professional medical care to those in need, distributed stationery kits, school bags, and water bottles to underprivileged students, and distributed personal hygiene kits. Read more in our blog post: Serving villages and slums during Ashvin Navratri 2022.
Serving humanity through charitable activities is intrinsic to the Indian culture and is often an integral part of devotional festivals. VMRK arranged many selfless service opportunities for the tens of thousands who came to this year’s Ashvin Navratri festival. In the evenings, they attended the devotional programs. During the day they participated in selfless service, helping in the kitchen and the grounds, or helping to sort and pack education materials and personal hygiene kits for distribution in nearby villages and slums.
Free medical camps
At the VMRK center at Nawan Nagar, a free medical camp lasting 19 days was operational 24 hours daily from September 18 to October 6, 2022. The team of 30 well-qualified doctors, paramedics, and nursing staff served in shifts throughout the period. The team provided medical consultation and medicines to thousands of patients who needed medical care. These medical services and medicines were provided free of charge. Wheelchair and ambulance services were also available free of charge.
A separate clinical treatment center was set up for patients who needed additional medical treatment and/or observation. The center had 2 sections, each with 6 beds, where one section was for female patients and the other for male patients. More than 660 patients received special care at this center day and night.
Blood donation camps
VMRK collaborated with various government hospitals to hold blood donation camps on 8 days. The blood bank medical teams came from Command Hospital, Chandi Mandir; Govt. Medical College, Patiala; Civil Hospital, Sector-6, Panchkula; Govt. Medical College & Hospital, Sector-32, Chandigarh; Civil Hospital Ropar; and Govt. Multi-Speciality Hospital, Sector-16, Chandigarh.
The medical staff from these hospitals screened those who voluntarily came forward to donate blood and assessed 255 persons as eligible blood donors. In total, 255 blood units (i.e. 102 liters) were collected during the blood donation camps. The units of donated blood were then safely transported to the blood banks at the hospitals.
VMRK volunteers made the arrangements for the camps and were on hand to assist as needed. After donating blood, donors were brought to the recovery area. There VMRK volunteers offered them refreshments to replenish their energy and ensure that they felt fine before leaving.
