Concluding the 1st Global Value Education Olympiad
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Concluding the 1st Global Value Education Olympiad
With the recent COP26 climate conference in Glasgow a current hot topic of discussion, ISKCON held the Felication Ceremony for its biggest Value Education Olympiad yet. There we recognized hundreds of thousands of school children from across India and the world who studied environmental values based on the teachings of the Bhagavad-gita. The Olympiad, organized by ISKCON of Punjabi Bagh, Delhi, is presented by Govardhan Eco Village and ISKCON in collaboration with the UN Environment Programme (UNEP) under the Faith For Earth Councillor initiative. This initiative invites faith-based organizations to be part of the solution to perhaps the biggest concern of our time. And ISKCON has jumped at the opportunity to present the Gita as a viable solution to climate change, working with the support of government and environmental institutions, NGOs, corporates, and schools.
The Zoom ceremony was attended by Dr. Iyad Abumoghli, Director of the UNEP Faith For Earth Initiative; Atul Bagai, Head of India’s UNEP office; and Laxmi Narain Goel, trustee for Ekal schools; along with ISKCON leaders like GBC HH Gopal Krishna Goswami and Govardhana Ecovillage Director and Faith For Earth Councillor HG Gauranga Das. Every student will receive a participation certificate, while there are six prize winners from private / public schools who received first, second and third prizes of a laptop, Firefox brand bicycle, and Kindle. There were also fifty consolation prizes in this category, with 171 students from 57 sectors of Ekal schools receiving prizes of a school bag, water bottle and stationary.
The Value Education Olympiad was launched on July 15th, with final exams on October 17th and 31st. Thirty thousand students from 250 private, government and international schools registered online. Meanwhile 200,000 students of 20,000 different Ekal schools, which bring education to children in the remotest rural and tribal villages, were sent study materials in person, as they do not have Internet connectivity.
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Congratulations you have taken one giant step towards giving a sanctified healthy meal to an underprivileged Indian.
Face the fact: (Source Global Huger Index 2017)
India is world’s second largest food producer yet it is home to world second biggest undernourished population. Source FAO 2015 25 % of all hungry people worldwide live in India. 44% of Indian Children below the age of 5 are underweight. Out of Worst hunger struck 119 countries India is at 100
What does a healthy human being need?
A balanced diet is one that helps a person maintain or improve health. It includes carbohydrates, fats, vitamins, proteins, roughage, water, and minerals. The amount of these nutrients varies with gender, age, occupation, climate and region. However, at ISKCON Punjabi Bagh, we understand that a complete meal is not just numbers and formulae. It is not just chopped-up vegetables and boiled grains. It is love that is the primary constituent of a healthy meal. The same love that a mother pours while she is at work in the kitchen, the same love that a father ploughs when he is toiling in the office, and the same love that siblings share when they fight.
How does ISKCON Punjabi Bagh satisfy this hunger?
We, at ISKCON Punjabi Bagh, understand that apart from a person’s body craving for satisfaction of the stomach, the satisfaction of the person occupying that body is also of primary importance. We solve this eternal craving of the soul through World’s Largest vegetarian Non-Profit Food Relief program called the Hare Krishna Food-for-Life.
Each meal is not only delicious but is also prepared with full attention to personnel & infrastructure hygiene. The food so prepared is first offered to the almighty Supreme Personality of Godhead Sri Krishna, therefore, although its quantity remains unchanged but qualitatively it is transformed from meal to Prasadam. Such sanctified meals on the one hand fulfil the basic necessity of the body and on the other purify the consciousness of a person. The fortunate people who receive Prasadam meals develop all good human qualities such as kindness, truthfulness, cleanliness, and gain immense control over the agitations of mind. No other food item in the world can offer such spiritual benefits.
Is it really World’s Largest?
Yes, ISKCON volunteers provide up to 2,000,000 (Two Million) free meals every day. His Divine Grace A.C. Bhaktivedanta Swami Srila Prabhupada, the Founder-Acharya of ISKCON, instructed his disciples that no one should sleep hungry within a 10 mile radius of a Hare Krishna centre. Keeping true to His Divine Grace’s instructions, every centre based on the available resources tries to serve nutritious meals free of cost to every person who gives the temple an opportunity to serve. This includes visitors, pilgrims, and residents of neighbouring areas. In fact, monthly processions are also accompanied by free distribution of food. Apart from this, special relief packages are designed and dispatched to areas affected by natural calamities.
Can non-ISKCON people contribute?
We are all children of the Supreme Personality of Godhead. This makes us God-brothers & God-sisters. Therefore, we encourage the more fortunate brothers and sisters to come forward and help the less fortunate ones. This can be achieved by sponsoring meals for the homeless, disadvantaged children, pilgrims and slum dwellers. We have created this web-page specifically for reaching out to people who have a big heart and a little time, energy and resources to spare. Your small contribution here can make 2 square meals possible for unprivileged brethren.
Where will my money go?
As every ISKCON temple is completely financially independent of the other, all money donated to ISKCON Punjabi Bagh temple is utilized locally within New Delhi. At times, we also travel the Indian sub-continent and distribute free Prasadam across the length and breadth of India.
No money from your donation is transferred outside the country without explicitly mentioning it. ISKCON centres worldwide manage their funds locally for the benefit of that region’s local population.
Because of this reason,currently, ISKCON Punjabi Bagh also does not accept any donations from foreign countries for the Food for Life program. In case, you are eager to contribute we suggest getting in touch with an ISKCON centre in your neighbouring area. The complete list of ISKCON centres world wide can be found here: http://centers.iskcondesiretree.com/ Hopefully, at a later time, when people all over the world have transcended the boundaries of nationality, colour, language, ethnicity and politics, we might be able to extend ourselves to help all children of God irrespective of geographical location.
I am still not sure if I want to contribute!
No Problem, we thank you for taking out time to read about the Hare Krishna Food for Life program. we suggest that you scroll through the rest of the website. It is highly probable that you will find another social cause that is worth investing your time and resources in such as education, organic farming, sustainable living and much more.
