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Diwali Article from Guyana Chronicle Newspaper |
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Friday, 30 October 2009 |
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Diwali Cheer Members of the Sri Krishna Mandir, located at Gay Park, Greater New Amsterdam, caused many gloomy faces to light up with joy when they shared out food hampers to the poor and needy throughout Berbice as part of their observances of the “Festival of Lights”.
Adviser to the Mandir and Hindi Teacher Mrs Chandrawattie Maraj disclosed that the Mandir filled over six hundred hampers with a range of twenty-six food items and distributed them to the poor and needy in both East and West Berbice earlier this week.
The hampers contained food to last a normal adult for at least one week and included basics such as rice, sugar, flour, onions, potatoes, curry powder, chow mein, peas and other staples.
The beneficiaries included adults and children. Hampers for children comprised sweets, chocolates and other “sweet mouth” things that children enjoy, Mrs Maraj said.
“Those who got were those in need regardless of their religion or ethnicity,” said Mrs Maraj, adding that the charitable act had aimed at “lighting up the lives” of these people on the occasion of Diwali. “It was our diwali seva, meaning our diwali service to the unfortunate in our neighborhoods, our way of bringing cheer to the poor during our celebrations” she said.
The distribution to the beneficiaries was done through the network of mandirs in East and West Berbice and the beneficiaries were those pre-identified by members in the communities in which they were located.
She also disclosed that this was not the first time the Mandir has performed this act of giving.
“This is the fifth occasion for our cheer giving at Diwali - five years in a row,” she disclosed.
The food for the hampers, this year as in previous years, was bought with funds raised by Sri Krishna Mandir Pandit Rajin Balgobind during his annual nine-nights period of Navraatri services in New York.
Temple worshippers donate monies for the local Mandir’s charitable act during navraatri.
The 600-odd hampers given out were packed by members of the Sri Krishna Mandir during last week and the distribution was done by the East and West Berbice mandirs beginning from Monday last and ending Wednesday.
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