The Global Hospital Village Outreach Program

I just want to share the little I know about the Village Outreach Program and invite everyone to correct me where I am wrong and add their own experience to mine.

As far as I know it is really one person's dream, Dr Vinay Lakshmi, who, as I understand, was a practicing medical doctor in the UK.

I have heard that she had to push hard for it and find her own financial support as the Nirwair and others were not supporting it. I guess she must have received some support from Dadi Prakashmani.

A number of times each week she goes into small remote villages in the Mount Abu area with a mobile clinic. Those are areas where no medical services are to be found and where no one could afford any otherwise. All the services are provided for free. If someone needs to be brought to the hospital for treatment, they will provide transportation and will even bring in the whole family with the patient if needed and offer them food and accommodation, all for free.

She does way more than offering medical services. She also does social service, education, distributes food and clothing ...

She welcomes anyone who wants to go along with her on her tours. I have been on a short one and I'll share my experience in the next post.

It seems to me that she is doing it out of a genuine spirit of service to people and although it may be sickening that the BKWSU are repackaging everything for self promotion purposes, it doesn't take away from the good of the services the Village Outreach Program is providing.

It seems to me that she is doing it out of a genuine spirit of service to people and although it may be sickening that the BKWSU are repackaging everything for self promotion purposes, it doesn't take away from the good of the services the Village Outreach Program is providing.

If that is true, then it is really commendable in view of the fact that she did not get active support from some of the BK Seniors.

The one time I went on a village tour with Dr Vinay Lakshmi, she was only visiting one child. It was not too far away, maybe 10 minutes past Peace Park. We stopped on the side of a small road, near a wheat field. At the other side of the field, at the base of a rocky hill, there was a small cluster of mud houses.

Once the bus engine was turned off, it was total silence. I mean silence from the noises of the modern world, but we could hear the birds and the breeze. The day was nice and not too hot. The scene was very bucolic as we started walking on a narrow trail snaking through the wheat.

It was about a 5 minutes walk to get to the houses. As we were getting closer other realities became more apparent to me: excrements and garbage all over. A bunch of playful kids came running to us. She introduced me to them and them to me.

We came in front of what seemed like a long narrow house but was actually a series of small attached individual dwellings, 10 or 15 of them. She invited me to follow her inside one of them through the open door. Even Vinay Lakshmi, who is much shorter than me, had to bend to make it through.

The whole house is smaller than 10 feet x 10 feet (3 meters x 3 meters). The floor is of dirt, obviously, and it seems to have never been raked even. The door is the only opening to the outside. No furniture other than a basket used for laundry which Vinay Lakshmi had been teaching the mother how to do. In a corner the mother is sitting on the ground baking a chapati on a small wood fire with no chimney and no exhaust other than the open door!

The little boy is curled up on the ground in another corner. He is 7 years old but he looks like he is not even 2, all petite, doesn't talk and doesn't walk. Apart from being understandably shy the mother seemed to me to be a sensible person but the story that Vinay Lakshmi told me is that the boy had an older Sister who is very normal but, for some reason, the mother never took care of him in the same way. She would always leave him in the dark of the house, would never take him outside and whenever she had to go to work in the field or anywhere else, she would leave him alone and close the door on him.

Can you imagine being in total darkness all your childhood?!!

Now, I don't understand what about the Father and what about the families in the neighborhood? Was no one else aware of that and no one did anything about it? I don't remember what she said about the neighbors. The Father had a small job at Guru Shikkar so he must have brought a little income home but who knows how much and if he wasted it on some selfish thing?

Anyway! She first had to work out through the mother's resistance of "How dare you tell me how to take care of my child?" type of reaction and try to bring that child back to life. After a few months she managed to get him to crawl. She took him out in the daylight, played with him, gave him some sensual stimuli. He was laughing and making all kinds of noises. She stood him on his two feet and held his hands.

She had brought a huge papaya. She had the boy's Sister to cut it up and distribute a piece to each child whilst I was feeding the rest to the boy. It was obviously an unusual treat for the kids but the little boy had to be held back some because he was so excited that he would have swallowed the whole thing in one slurp.

I was admiring the courage and patience of that woman who pretty much single handedly built and operates the whole program, how for the sake of one child she would give her time and care in such a way.

I did not see another adult during the hour we were there. As we were walking back through the wheat field accompanied by the kids, I was thinking that this common field of wheat is all what those people have, along with mud houses and a well ... and maybe a few rupees from a working husband ...

On the way back to Madhuban we passed Peace Park where a wealthy family was walking out and getting into their limousine ... Guess how I felt seeing that?

bkti-pit,

This is a beautiful account. Thanks for writing it up for us! I've heard of this woman, and it seems really praiseworthy work she is doing.

kti-pit,

Yes, it is good to see such good deeds and kindness. Recognizing that all souls have value, feelings and more importantly that they too are God's children.

If that is true, then it is really commendable in view of the fact that she did not get active support from some of the BK Seniors.

I can corroborate that her initiative was the driving force, and wider acceptance by the BK Seniors did not come till later. A great example of a mature, adult BK making her own life decisions.

On the way back to Madhuban we passed Peace Park where a wealthy family was walking out and getting into their limousine ... Guess how I felt seeing that?

It made me choke with emotion.

If that is true, then it is really commendable in view of the fact that she did not get active support from some of the BK Seniors.

And even more reprehensible that they jumped on it to take credit and whitewash themselves after it proved to be successful. BK tend to think that the reason folks leave them, apart from being banished, is because they cannot follow the rules. Its not true. In fact, I would say life can actually be easier "following the rules", if done so gently.

What really turned me was watching Janki come up with international service plans and the best she could think of were "Have-a-Vision-of-Us" peace marches ... samo-samo. I would witness to the fact that both she and Jayanti were against practical social service the latter dowsing discussion about it because it was not said in the right way ... Service which, even if done in a subtle way, that would have brought about far greater PR value and social transformation.

It just did not enter into their heads.

It is nice for someone to be exposed for something good, worthy and her struggle within the system to practically benefit others that are suffering for a change.

Is this the good Sister Dr Vinay Lakshmi that we are talking about?

BK Lakshmi.jpg (19.16 KiB) Viewed 16582 times

Yes, this is her.

Dr. Lakshmi has found her compass ... Great work Brother for digging this one and sharing it with us.

Truly touched by god

Yogi

We have always spoken well about the Village Outreach Program and voiced support for Dr Lakshmi's good work breaking away form the orthodox BKWSU view of not doing practical charity work. Equally, I think it is fair to say we suspect the Brahma Kumaris have only adopted it given the nigh universal criticisms of them in Mount Abu from locals and it has been good for their PR.

Does anyone have an update on how she and things are going with it?

Against Shrimat, the Maryadas and what the Brahma Kumaris say they do, I do notice that they are openly asking for donations, here: Donations. Personally, I think it is a good thing that BKs give money to real and practical charities and I can only encourage that.

But I am confused by why non-BKs should give donations to support a BK PR campaign.

Perhaps the BKs can continue to claim they never ask for donations (which they actually do) ... because they use numerous fronts and shells by which to ask for donations? Or perhaps the BKs can continue to claim that the BKWSU does not ask for donations ... as no such thing as the BKWSU really exists?

If anyone can enlighten me I would appreciate it. Are all donations going to VOP via the Global Hospital & Research Centre going to VOP?

Note below, two of the listed donors are basically BKWSU fronts or shells but why are the rest giving money to the BKs back door? A friend has encouraged me to write to them and ask.

You see, if others give money to a BK PR front, then the Brahma Kumaris can keep their own money to do their own non-charitable thing with.

Some of the current sponsors and donators are:

Hong Kong Womens Association
Sindhi Nari Sabha, London, U.K.
Janki Foundation, London, U.K. - BK
Global Harmony Foundation, Lausanne, Switzerland - BK
Rotary Club of Jersey, U.K.

Donations can be sent to Global Hospital & Research Centre - with specific mention to the V.O.P.- Village Outreach Programme, account nr. 017030, Union Bank of India, Vile Parle (West) Mumbai, India. Please communicate your overseas transfers by fax 91-2974-38570 or by e-mail

These donations will be used to support current ongoing projects, but also to set up new projects which envisage the economic self-reliance of the villagers in this region and to adopt new villages.