Zone 7
Austria
Six SSSIO volunteers in Tyrol, western Austria, celebrated Guru Poornima by offering their love and gratitude to their beloved teacher, Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, with an inspiring study circle and uplifting devotional singing.
On November 9, 2021, SSSIO members enthusiastically participated in a National Sai retreat at a local lake. They set up five stations, each representing one of the five elements and learned more about each element through stories, songs, and dance. The volunteers also used the opportunity to serve the environment by removing garbage.
Belgium
Torrential rainfall in the summer of 2021 resulted in significant damage, washing away homes and causing widespread suffering in Belgium. Ten SSSIO volunteers from Belgium, Germany, and Holland helped the affected people. They cleaned debris from the house of an elderly lady, provided temporary shelter to those displaced by the floods, and distributed over 16,000 hot meals a day. In the town of Nonceveux, the volunteers also restored a caravan for a family with four children before winter set in.
Czech Republic
In September 2021, SSSIO members held a retreat focused on service to nature. They removed the debris and cleaned a forest damaged by a severe windstorm.
SSSIO volunteers celebrated Christmas with a wonderful program filled with traditional Czech carols and read the story of Jesus Christ from the Bible with dramatization.
Denmark
SSSIO members continued their devotional practices with regular online meetings and programs despite pandemic-related restrictions. Volunteers from the Hilleroed and Copenhagen Sai Centers distributed food to the homeless. In Horsens, volunteers brought joy to three older people by spending time with them and singing popular songs.
Germany
In Germany, there was a significant increase in service activities during 2021. In addition to supporting refugees, an ongoing project, SSSIO members also served prison inmates, the homeless, elderly, lonely, and sick people. Several Envirocare activities were conducted, including cleaning the shores of the Rhine, the Alter, and Baltic Sea beaches. In addition, the volunteers collected rubbish from many public locations. SSSIO members conducted monthly online meetings. They worked on local organic gardens and donated the harvest to the local food banks for distribution to the needy.
The SSSIO provided flood relief in the Eifel region. SSSIO members organized 25 projects to distribute urgently needed relief supplies to affected families to restore their homes. The volunteers also served single, elderly people affected by the flood. The SSSIO of Germany received letters of gratitude from two communities deeply touched by the service activities.
In an area of western Germany (Bad Kreuznach), the local Catholic community and the Sai devotees have developed a rapport over the last few years. This year, 32 public meetings were held in the prayer hall of a catholic church, organized by the SSSIO, with singing, meditation, and reading sessions.
Hungary
More than 40 SSSIO members enthusiastically participated in devotional programs at their annual summer retreat at Cserhátszentiván from July 17 to 20, 2021. In August 2021, SSSIO volunteers of the Budapest Sai Center collected and distributed clothes and toys at a children's home at Bicske.
On September 9, SSSIO members attended a devotional music program at the International Eucharistic Congress in Budapest. The Congress is a worldwide Christian gathering marked by peace and joy in praise of God.
On November 6, 2021, Young Adults distributed food at a dog shelter on the outskirts of Budapest.
In December 2021, the Budapest Sai Center filled gift boxes with toys and necessities and beautifully wrapped them. They distributed these boxes to children in a poverty-stricken area at the Hungarian border for Christmas.
Latvia
Every Saturday, SSSIO volunteers from the Liepāja Sai Group prepare and serve hot food to needy people in their community.
SSSIO volunteers from the Center in Riga prepared and delivered 85 packets of fresh fruit to the Women's Night Shelter.
Lithuania
Despite restrictions due to the pandemic, SSSIO volunteers in Lithuania prepared and served a traditional Christmas Eve dinner to the residents of Kaunas night shelter in December.
The Netherlands
SSSIO members from the Netherlands and Belgium continued to serve hundreds of refugees in Calais and Dunkirk. The volunteers collected clothes, shoes, tents, and blankets and brought them to the warehouse in Calais, where volunteers from Belgium helped sort and distribute the supplies to the refugees.
Poland
SSSIO members in Poland participated in an online national retreat during May 1-3, 2021. The attendees participated in workshops and discussions and listened to uplifting talks and devotional songs.
A workshop titled "Freedom in spirituality" was held in Łódź during October 9-10, 2021. Each session featured lectures, study circles, plays, and devotional singing.
On November 21, 2021, more than 50 people came together in Krakow to celebrate the 96th Birthday of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. The outstanding program included a talk by Ms. Maria Quoos, Central Coordinator, Zone 7, who shared stories of devotees which were inspiring and captivating.
SSSIO volunteers from Warsaw, Grudziądz, and Kraków served needy families by preparing and distributing warm food and other essential supplies.
Sweden
SSSIO volunteers in Stockholm continued to serve at a kitchen for the homeless throughout the pandemic. They made vegetarian pasta sauce, pasta, and salad and delivered them to the kitchen for distribution to the homeless.
SSSIO also distributed essential supplies to the homeless in the community, including socks, underwear, balm, shampoo, razors, shaving cream, toothpaste, toothbrush, shower gel, and combs.
Forty-three volunteers from the Stockholm Sai Center packed and distributed 108 gift bags containing a sandwich, a banana, coffee, and a pair of winter-warm socks to the needy around Stockholm, during Christmas. They also packed 65 bags with bread, butter, paprika, cheese sticks, and oranges and delivered them to a restaurant which serves the homeless. Also, as a New Year's gift, the volunteers gave seven large bottles of alcohol-free Champagne and four big boxes of chocolate to the homeless.