Recovering from Cyclone Fani

On May 2, 2019, Cyclone Fani made landfall in Puri, Odisha, causing devestating damage. It will take many years for the region to fully recover, and your support is greatly needed.

Our brand new school, the Father Marian Memorial Beatrix High School, suffered extensive damage, as did the Ishopanthi Ashram (our affiliated spiritual center in Puri) and Karunalaya (the lepers’ village).

Father Baptiste, who runs the Beatrix school, wrote the following note in early May:

Puri city is totally destroyed. No trees are standing, all electric poles, installations, mobile towers, roofs of hotel and houses made of asbestos or steel are blown off. All houses from the light house to Ishopanthi Ashram are blown off. The sea beach road resembles a mountain of sand. Hotels along the beach are totally destroyed with sand and rubble flown in with the storm.

Coming to more personal issues, the damage to the building and property of Karunalaya, the (Ishopanthi) Ashram, and Beatrix School is beyond words. All glass windows of the school and ashram are broken; the 10 kilowatt solar panels in the school and the 16 kilowatt solar panels in the ashram are totally destroyed and blown off; the solar panels and solar water heating system with four water tanks of the hostel are destroyed, and the main gate of the school is blown away.

You all have been with us in the thick and thin of our life in the Puri mission. I only pray God shows us the way and gives us the strength to stand amidst this destruction. I shall be grateful to you for any help you are able to extend to rebuild our lives and mission in Puri.

Damaged Solar Panels

Destroyed rooftop water tanks

Extensive damage to the lepers’ care center

Thankfully, school was not in session when the cyclone hit, as Puri schools are closed during tht May–June hot season. The buildings themselves remain standing and no one in and around the school was injured. More than a thousand people took shelter inside our school during the storm. Doctors Without Borders set up a camp on the school grounds to provide medical, hygienic, and psychological assistance to the local population. After the cyclone passed, the Indian government supplied each family with 100 pounds of rice and 2000 rupees (about $30) to help them start rebuilding their shattered lives.

Anything you can give is very much appreciated. You have our deepest gratitude.

ॐ

July 12, 2019 Update

It is with great joy that we announce that the school in Puri has now reopened. The deep generosity of our friends and sponsors made it possible to repair all the major damage to our school. We were able to send $20,000! And more donations also came from many people in Europe and South America.

Most of the school books and uniforms were lost or destroyed, but now the students have new uniforms—they are green, the color of hope. And hope is truly creating their future. I am happy to these photos of the students showing their enthusiasm that they are able to start studying again.

Now that the school is back in operation, we will turn our attention to the leper colony. In the last few years, we had rebuilt about three quarters of the huts where the lepers lived so they could have decent shelter, clean water, beds, and nourishing food. However, these were destroyed in the cyclone so we are starting again. We have made a good start already due to your wonderful donations.

Summer 2015 Newsletter

To read the Summer 2015 Newsletter as a PDF, click here.

A Message from Swami Nirvanananda

Hari Om!

I am happy to be back in the USA this year. I invite you to join me at my kirtans and special programs in California. Please come and chant with me!

Upcoming Events

For a complete list of Swami Nirvanananda's upcoming events, please visit the events page at Nirvanananda.org.

You Make It All Possible!

We are very thankful to all our sponsors and donors who are making it possible to help more than 1,250 children in and around Puri, India, to get an education and live better, healthier lives. This is really the only way for them to look forward to a better life for themselves and their future families.

Please read on for updates on all the projects.

Swami Nirvanananda visits Puri, India, nearly every year to help with the many projects he supports there. Puri is located on the Bay of Bengal in the state of Odisha. Here he describes some of the updates and activities:

Happy Cows!

The Milk Project was helped very much buying five cows that provide a good amount of fresh milk every day for all the children and babies. The cows are attended by our new “cowboy”, Avinash, who provides them with fresh hay and keeps them clean. A solar panel on the roof provides electricity for the fans that cool the stable. The cows look very happy and strong, very different from the normal Indian cows roaming on the roads. The excrement of the animals produces a large quantity of bio-gas which is used in the kitchen. We are planning to buy more cows to cover all the needed milk and fuel for cooking.

Beatrix School Update

new-high-school.jpg

In January, I visited Puri and the new Beatrix School. I was really gratified to see how nicely the work has progressed and how happy the students and the teachers are. More than 650 children, from kindergarten to 10 grade now attend school here. On the first two floors are the higher grades and the computer rooms. More than 20 desktops are connected to a main hard drive so that all the children receive basic technological knowledge.

On the third floor there is a very large hall for the meetings. Every morning at 9:30 a.m. the students practice 30 minutes of yoga before starting their regular classes. A young teacher shows them Pranayama exercises, and meditation and relaxation methods. At the end they all recite the Guru Mantra in Sanskrit and sing the Indian national anthem, composed by Rabindranath Tagore. It is really very touching to see their intense and enthusiastic participation. The teachers are also very supportive because the regular practice of yoga has a big influence on the students' concentration capacity, the quality of their learning, and the improvement of their relationships. Many visiting European guests were impressed with the idea of yoga in the school.

All the students are very proud and appreciative that they can be part of our school. They have so much gratitude that they have this opportunity and the possibility of going on to attend college. There is a very good university in Bhubaneshwar and many would like to go there. One of our students attended this college and is now studying in Australia for two years to get a Master’s degree in Computer Engineering. This student has won sever national prizes for academics during his time at the Beatrix School. Other graduates of the Beatrix School are attending a three-year nursing school and will go on to have a rewarding career int the medical fields. They all are among the best students.

New Improvements and Project Updates

Among the new projects that we introduced was the construction of new bathrooms for the girls to give them better hygienic conditions. They will be built at the ground floor near the new school.

Some new sturdy brick huts have been built for the lepers' families and there are more under construction. Solar panels have been installed on the roofs that provide electricity to run the pumps and filters for the drinking water. This will help reduce several cases of dysentery and other illnesses due to the impurity of the drinking water.

With your donations, the various other projects continue and grow:

  • rescuing girls living on the streets;
  • buying sewing machines for our tailoring and embroidery schools;
  • providing medical equipment for our school that serves handicapped girls;
  • helping many families of rickshaws pullers to buy a new rickshaw.

Beatrix School Celebrations

During our visit we participated in several school celebrations:

First was the Saraswati Puja, performed in a room at the school by a young Brahmin, a teacher of yoga. Saraswati is the female aspect of God, representing wisdom, teaching, art and music. She is therefore very much beloved by the students who feel her protection and guidance in all their efforts.

The second celebration was the anniversary of Chandra Bose, the Freedom Fighter who liberated Bengal and Odisha in the last century. A special puja was held while some students narrated his story.

The third celebration took place on January 26th, India's Independence Day, when India gained its freedom from British rule just 66 years ago. All the students prepared many excellent programs, including yoga demonstrations, singing and some different styles of dancing, from the classical Odissi to Bollywood Dance. We all liked it very much.

Then, the fourth celebration concluded our festivities! Every year on January 30th, we have a special festival to remember Father Marian, the founder of the school and the lepers' colony. This year the crowd was very large and enthusiastic. The head representative of all schools came to give a talk. To my surprise, at the end, she sang an old song called "We Shall Overcome" of the Afro-American slavery tradition. It was a very special moment for all those students, who are children of the untouchables of the Indian caste system. Many other musical programs followed, expressing so much joy and happiness.

It was difficult to leave after being so close to the children and their parents, but we will be back next year for the 10th anniversary of Father Marion's passing.

Thank You For Sharing Swamiji's Journey!

Shantipuri Friends Foundation is a 501(c)(3) non-profit public charity. All donations are tax deductible and go directly to support underprivileged children in and around Puri, India. Please visit our Donate page if you'd like to help.

Sales from Swamiji's CDs go to support his travel and expenses. Visit Nirvanananda.org to listen and purchase Swamiji's music.

October 2014 Newsletter

A Message from Swami Nirvanananda

Dear Friends,

It was such a joy to greet many of you again on my US tour this summer. I also visited Brazil this year which was new for me. I enjoyed meeting and singing with so many people and was very touched by your generosity towards me and the underprivileged children of Puri. I hope to see you all again in 2015.

Hari Om!
Swami Nirvanananda

Please Renew Your Sponsorship!

School sponsorships are up for renewal now! The children are back in school and studying hard. If you have not renewed your sponsorship we urge you to do so right away so their studies are not interrupted. If you are not sure about your renewal, please inquire at info@shantipurifriends.org. Each child needs only $10.00 per month, $120.00 per year. You can make your payment annually or monthly. Donate online at ShantipuriFriends.org. If you prefer to send a check, please send it to:

Shantipuri Friends Foundation
PO Box 235713
Encinitas, CA 92023

Your School Sponsorships Are Making a Difference

Thank you to all new and renewing school sponsors. We had 150 new sponsorships from Europe, Brazil, and North America this year. At the Beatrix School alone we are now sponsoring 700 children through Grade 12 and we have even been able to send a few young people to college. It is truly inspiring. In total, we are now sponsoring 1,400 children!

The School Building is Finished

The Father Marion Memorial Beatrix School in Puri is now finished! From the groundbreaking in September 2011 to May 2014, your generous donations have funded $360,000 to accomplish this goal! The completed school was officially opened on June 17th. Thank you!

Three New Projects Are Underway

1. Water facilities for drinking and sanitation

Access to clean water is the basis for a minimum standard of living and enables the deprived to immediately improve their quality of life. Water supply for households is thus a key component of our “Basic Needs Services.” Local and state governments have continuously failed in their efforts to supply water to rural and needy areas in India. We are working with the Karunalaya Leprosy Village to provide water facilities for drinking and sanitation. There will be two large overhead water tanks along with two pumps to supply each half of the village. This will ensure that there will be clean water available in the village at least from one of the systems in case of any eventuality.

2. Cow farm and bio-gas for the kitchens

Like people everywhere, these children and their families need a good, stable diet. This helps strengthen their immune systems to withstand diseases especially Hansen's disease (leprosy) and tuberculosis. To that end, we are starting a cow farm to provide pure milk, cheese, and butter for much needed calories and protein.

In 2014, we started with five cows and will add five more cows next year. In order to provide fodder for the cows, we have started cultivating a pasture for them. The cow dung will be used for a bio-gas plant (to be established) for the Children's Home kitchen. The slurry (a waste product) from the bio-gas plant will be used as fertilizer for the vegetable garden and the fodder cultivation. The garden vegetables will be used for both the Mercy kitchen (feeding the leper families) and the Children's Home kitchen (feeding the schoolchildren).

3. Housing construction

The next big project is to build new houses for the leper colony. There are 71 leprosy victim families in the Punaruthanpalli — Village of Resurrection. Father Marion helped to shelter these families in rudimentary houses many years ago. The houses are now in very dilapidated condition. With your general fund donations we have built four new houses. We hope to construct 67 houses with modern bathrooms using tiles on the floor and walls (instead of dirt, plaster, or dung) for better hygiene. The roof of the houses will be of reinforced concrete (instead of thatch). These new homes will be of quality construction and last long into the future.

Swami Nirvanananda's Music

Can't get enough of Swamiji's beautiful chants? Visit Nirvanananda.org to listen to and download many of his songs. Do you know he has recorded more than 50 CDs?

His newest CDs are:
A Touch of Bliss, recorded in Brazil;
I Am Thine, recorded in Rochester, NY;
Lokah Samastah, recorded in Encinitas, CA.

Coming next year:
Atma Priya and Beneath Your Wing, both recorded in Hawaii;
Live in Encinitas 2014, ;
Love Came Down at Christmas, a selection of Christmas carols from different traditions.

 

We sincerely thank you for your amazing generosity!

Yours truly,
Shantipuri Friends Foundation
Board of Directors

Swami Nirvanananda
Sundaram La Pierre
Sue Kenney