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With the divine blessings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Sri Sathya Sai Premaarpitham Foundation recently expanded its service outreach initiatives to include the village of Cheelandawadi. On the morning of February 4th, 2024, this small forest village of 150 residents began a new chapter, as the Foundation launched its Dayini programmes there – Sri Sathya Sai Prema Dayini (providing wholesome breakfasts), Sri Sathya Sai Kshema Dayini (delivering quality preventative healthcare and wellness services), and Sri Sathya Sai Shubha Dayini (empowering women through skills development, menstrual health education, and supportive networks).
About Cheelandawadi Village
Cheelandawadi is a small forest village situated five kilometres from the Sri Sathya Sai Vaatsalayam in Shivagiri Kshetra. The villagers sustain themselves through daily wages and raising cattle. Before the Sri Sathya Sai Vaidyalayam hospital was established in January 2023, the village lacked access to basic medical facilities. Their nearest government healthcare facility was a Public Health Centre about 10 kilometres away in Doddaalahalli. For any major ailments and health emergencies, the villagers had to travel over 40 kilometres to reach a hospital. While limited public transportation to the village continues to make accessing healthcare challenging for Cheelandawadi, the health camp conducted by the Kshema Dayini team in February 2024 brought new hope.
Kshema Dayini brings Medical Care to Cheelandawadi
The Foundation organised a medical camp in Cheelandawadi to actively assess and address the health needs of the villagers. Volunteers started the day by serving nutritious breakfasts to all villagers, followed by bhajan singing and setting up of the medical camp on the premises of the Cheelandawadi Government School.
The villagers, young and old, arrived for the medical camp and registered themselves for preliminary health checks including height, weight, pulse rate, and blood pressure. Physicians from the Sri Sathya Sai Vaidyalayam thoroughly examined each villager during consultations at the camp to evaluate their health conditions.
Based on their examinations, the physicians prescribed appropriate medications and patiently counselled the villagers on proper dosage and timing, while the lab technicians performed blood tests as prescribed by the doctors. The physicians scheduled some patients for specialist follow-up consultations at the Vaidyalayam hospital. In the coming weekend, the volunteers’ team will bring these villagers to Vaidyalayam, where specialist doctors from the city will further assess and treat them.
Cheelandawadi Women introduced to Shubha Dayini
As the medical camp continued, sister volunteers introduced the women of Cheelandawadi to the Sri Sathya Sai Shubha Dayini initiative for skills training and empowerment. The volunteers explained how the handicrafts classes would teach the women to actively create beautiful products, such as beaded jewellery, paper bags, soaps, pen holders, and more. They emphasised that developing these new skills could provide additional income for the women’s families. The volunteers encouraged the women to join the training sessions held at the Sri Sathya Sai Vaatsalayam campus. Excited by the prospect of learning new skills, many women eagerly signed up to participate.
Concluding a Rewarding Day of Service
The medical camp and skills orientation concluded successfully, having provided much-needed services to many villagers. As the volunteers packed up, their hearts overflowed with joy at having served these communities and ignited hope for a brighter future.
Though the day ended, the work had just begun. The Sri Sathya Sai Premaarpitham Foundation aims to uplift countless more villages through the far-reaching Dayini initiatives.
The volunteers offered a heartfelt Mangala Aarthi in reverence and gratitude to Bhagawan, for it is His love and guidance that uplifts and transforms lives.
