Sai Ram
Here is the transcript of the article published in "The Week" October 9, 2005 Issue.
Health care
Silent Revolution
Through its activities across the globe, Sai Medicare is setting models without fanfare
By Dr Hiramalini Seshadri
Love can heal: Sai Baba with a patient
In March last year, a tornado caused such havoc in Cordoba, Argentina, that the
government declared national emergency. The army erected tents for a medical
camp and doctors of Sai medicare, who began the day by singing the National
Anthem and reading from the Holy Bible, provided care, nutrition and medication
to over 1,500 people.In 2003, in a medical camp in flood-ravaged Cossack, Sai
medicare teams from Russia and Europe treated 8,800 patients and rebuilt the
local hospital and ambulance station. At Aceh, Indonesia, Sai volunteers and
teams of doctors from Canada and the US organised by the Sri Sathya Sai
International Medical Committee got going the only two hospitals in the region
which had lost its staff to the tsunami.The medical team that rushed to
Talpetate on the El Salvador-Guatemalan border following an earthquake did some
social work as well. Discovering that lack of water supply was the greatest
problem there, they installed water supply to 100 homes through a $4,000 water
project.In the US, Sai doctors run free health education and screening camps
for those without health insurance. In Caracas, Venezuela, doctors of the local
Sai organisation conduct regular eye camps and in Africa, 8,000 free cataract
surgeries are planned this year.These are just a few instances of how
volunteers of a global movement called Medicare with Love are reaching out to
the needy across the world. In 2004-2005, more than 330 medicare camps were
held in over 30 countries, benefiting over 77,000 patients.The nucleus of this
movement is the secondary care hospital in Puttaparthi, Andhra Pradesh, which
was launched 50 years ago as a small four-bedded hospital by Sri Sathya Sai
Baba. Today, it caters to over 500 outpatients daily, besides inpatients. A
similar general hospital has been functioning at Whitefield, near Bangalore,
for 30 years. The icing on the Sai medicare cake,
however, has been the Sri Sathya Sai Institutes of Higher Medical Sciences at
Puttaparthi and Whitefield which have been providing free world-class tertiary
medicare for over a decade.Says Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the inspiration for this
silent medical revolution: "Love can heal any disease; just live in infinite
Love as I do and you too can do all this and more." Baba gave the message of
Love at the International Sai Medical Conference held at Prashanthi Nilayam,
Puttaparthi, last month: "Love all and serve all without fanfare and ego and
thus realise your own innate divinity."In India, Sai medicare has been running
free outpatient clinics in urban areas for the past 25 years. In the last two
years, over 39,500 rural medical camps have been held benefiting over 5.2
million people. The free Sai clinic for passengers at Chennai Central is the
first of its kind in Indian Railways.Sai medicare has tie-ups with projects of
other nations, too. Kenya's Sai
organisation has tied up with the government to distribute insecticide-treated
bed nets to prevent malaria. By November, 50,000 Sai nets would have been
distributed.The Sai net initiative validates all the recommendations of the
millennium task force set up by the African heads of states—that a direct
community approach is needed to tackle malaria, that insecticide-treated nets
need to be given to all, and that the tie-up between governments and
faith-based organisations is desirable to ensure successful project
implementation as commitment is greatest in such organisations.For the Sai
volunteers, there is only one caste, the caste of humanity, only one religion,
that of love, and only one God, the omnipresent one. Source: The Week Magazine,
October 9, 2005http://www.the-week.com/25oct09/lifestyle_article1.htm
Courtesy: http://www.ssso.net/

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Attached please find a copy of the article "Silent Revolution" written by Hiramalani Seshadri...
http://www.ssso.net