The Sathya Sai International Organisation (SSIO) of Kazakhstan conducted a medical camp from 1st to 10th August 2013, in the town of Saran, in the Karaganda region. About 254 volunteers from Kazakhstan, Russia, Uzbekistan, Ukraine, United Kingdom, Germany, Denmark, Ireland, USA, Canada and India served at this camp. At the opening, the Mayor of Saran, Honourable M. E. Adambekov, said that he had never before met such people, who came at their own expense from distant places to do good deeds.

The medical team,headed by Dr. Upadhyay, was composed of 84 volunteers, including 41 doctors, specialising in ophthalmology, optometry, neuropathology, immunology, general practice, reflexology, nephrology, endocrinology, paediatrics, stomatology and psychiatry. Between 1st and 9th August 2013, 5,721 patients were screened and 1,136 pairs of glasses were distributed, in addition to medicines. Three mobile medical teams were organised to visit ten nearby towns and villages to examine people who were unable to come to the camp.

Sathya Sai devotees also performed construction work to renovate two kindergarten schools, a house for the mentally retarded, a home for elderly people and a college hostel.

About 1,600 people attended 168 different educational activities at the camp. Forty teachers and teacher’s assistants conducted 15 classes for 186 children, two to six years old. Another education project, “The School of Joy,” was conducted for first- to ninth-grade school children in two schools. Over 700 children attended 89 classes, including 60 classes in Education in Human Values (EHV) and 29 classes in self-knowledge. In addition, 291 children from the town attended 48 workshops in stage performance, dance, sports, puppetry and arts. Eighty-nine teachers from local schools and kindergartens attended four seminars focused on the topics of self-knowledge, alienation in school, teenage suicide, and addiction to alcohol and tobacco. On 3rd August, a festival for 23 disabled children was arranged, and on 4th August, a “Festival of Joy” was conducted in the town square.

At the camp, Sathya Sai devotees distributed 150 food packets containing grits (potato pancakes) and sugar, as well as clothes and laundry detergent. In addition, a wheelchair, a baby-jumper and medical equipment were also distributed. The children and their school received many useful items, including laptop computers, a large screen TV, a camera, an iPad, a DVD player, and toys. In closing, Ms. Dana Gillespie presented a wonderful concert, showering Swami’s love on the entire region.

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