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Zone 8
Zone Activities
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Despite the challenges of the COVID pandemic, SSSIO volunteers in Zone 8 continued to serve people in need. They regularly served hot meals to over 1,000 people and distributed warm clothes.
In late May 2022, 110 participants from 39 cities in six countries of Zone 8 attended the fourth online Clean Planet program about environmentally friendly living. SSSIO Belarus organized the event with the support of the Zonal Methodological Council for Education. The program focused on practical knowledge and activities to direct youth to the wonders of nature and serve the planet. Young adults contributed by hosting a quiz and providing technical support.
In July 2022, SSSIO volunteers participated in the Active Summer Project – including a field trip, garbage cleanup, games, nature walks for children, nature-focused drawing and photo contests, and outdoor satsang and bhajans. In Russia, the participants enjoyed water sports and games at the Sai Olympics.
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Sai Volunteers climbed Mount Tarki-Tau to clean garbage and collect medicinal herbs such as thyme, yarrow, and clover. An excursion and a lecture about plants in Russia were held for 34 SSSIO members. At the same time, other SSSIO members from Russia prepared and distributed hot meals, sweets, and tea at homeless shelters, near temples, recycling stations, and other locations. Volunteers also cleaned up trash in their neighborhoods, helped weed flower beds, and cleaned up around lakes, rivers, and bodies of water.
In Belarus, 23 volunteers lovingly served their communities by clearing garbage from forest areas, dismantling an old shed, and collecting medicinal herbs and berries.
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In Kazakhstan, five volunteers from the Almaty Center collected eight bags of trash from the Pervomaisky Ponds. SSSIO volunteers from Nursultan organized a fun-filled day for 12 local, impoverished children. Three SSE teachers taught the children about the importance of nature. The children enjoyed the crafts and stories, and everyone was happy
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Azerbaijan
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SSSIO members in Azerbaijan lovingly served the environment by picking garbage from the countryside and cleaning the Caspian Sea coast on July 3, 2022.
Six volunteers commemorated Qurban Bayram on July 9, 2022, delivering food packages to 13 impoverished families. The packages contained rice, sugar, vegetable oil, corn butter (margarine), butter, cottage cheese, pasta, lentils, buckwheat, tea, semolina, porridge oats, bread, cookies, and chocolate butter (for children).
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In October 2022, more than 50 people participated in the 18th National Conference in the capital city of Baku with much love and enthusiasm. The meeting included uplifting devotional singing and an overview of the extensive, inspiring work of the SSSIO. Winners and participants of the creative contest Active Summer 2022 were awarded diplomas, memorable gifts, and certificates for their achievements and contributions.
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Belarus
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As part of the Active Summer 2022 program, SSSIO volunteers and children from four cities picked up garbage in a forest, cleared the banks of the Vitba River, beautified the landscape of a housing complex, cleared a playground, cleaned an apartment, and planted some shrubs.
In late June 2022, 18 SSSIO members from three cities participated in the Sai Olympics. Three SSSIO members lovingly served hot meals to 11 needy people. In one town, five Sai volunteers, including a child, cleaned the city's forest area and raked and mowed the grass in a field. In another village, 10 Sai volunteers helped a pensioner clean his house by mopping the floors, cleaning windows and curtains, and clearing two flowerbeds.
In October 2022, 15 SSSIO volunteers from three groups in Belarus lovingly served buckwheat porridge with vegetables, salad, bread, gingerbread, and apples to more than 30 needy people.
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Kazakhstan
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On January 2, 2022, 10 SSSIO volunteers from the Almaty Sai Center lovingly cooked and served a sumptuous meal with lentil soup and tea for the homeless and needy people in the city. The Young Adults read poems, sang songs to ring in the New Year, and distributed 45 bags of sweets, cookies, and tangerines.
In spring, in Almaty, the volunteers served hot food, tea, cookies, and sweets to 45 homeless people. In Rudny City, SSSIO members served buckwheat porridge and tea and distributed packaged food to 50 homeless people.
In 2022, Sai devotees served Mother Nature at every opportunity. In late July, they cleaned the banks of River Nura, collecting 12 large bags of garbage. Members of the Almaty Sai Center cleaned up the banks of their local river – Malaya Almatinka. In Shchuchinsk, the volunteers diligently cleared an area in the forest for sports.
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Kyrgyzstan
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In March 2022, SSSIO volunteers from Kyrgyzstan served hot food to 37 people at a local homeless shelter, including soy and vegetable pilaf. They also distributed biscuits and chocolate. The recipients were grateful for the food and touched by the outpouring of love and compassion from the volunteers.
In June 2022, SSSIO volunteers served the environment by cleaning a country park.
On July 2 and 3, Sai devotees served Mother Nature by picking up garbage from the scenic shores of Lake Issyk-Kul, the beautiful Alamedin Gorge, and the Chemalsky district in Altai.
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Russia
In March 2022, the 10th Regional Educational Conference of the Siberian region was held, with the participation of 25 delegates. The attendees discussed the role and importance of SSE and SSEHV.
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In late June 2022, SSSIO members from Russia's Siberian and Central regions participated in the Sai Olympics and various service activities. Volunteers lovingly cared for animals in a local animal shelter in the Central Region. They walked the dogs in a nearby forest and cleaned the surrounding areas. In the Siberian Region, 23 Sai devotees distributed food to the disadvantaged. They also collected garbage along local rivers and in the city park and cleaned the garden of a fellow SSSIO member.
In early July 2022, volunteers in ten cities lovingly fed and cared for animals, cleaned and removed garbage from riverbanks and reservoirs, and planted and watered flowers. A family summer recreation camp with educational, sports, and cultural programs was held in the Southern region of Russia, bringing together the members of the Organization and their families, creating a fraternal atmosphere.
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In Siberia, Northern Russia, SSSIO volunteers shared love and joy through a Children's Festival in July with the theme Nature Is Our Best Teacher. The children learned the lessons taught by Mother Nature on the importance of listening to their hearts and seeing God in everything. It was a memorable holiday for the children, their teachers, parents, and organizers who visited the artificial Sea of Ob.
More than 160 SSSIO members around Russia, including 27 children, participated in the Summer Program in early August 2022. SSSIO volunteers distributed freshly prepared vegetarian food near a local temple in the Northwestern region. The volunteers from the Caucasus region cleaned local parks and beaches along the Caspian Sea coast. In the Northwestern region, volunteers assisted a local animal shelter. They pruned trees, removed debris, and cleaned the area around the animal shelter. They also cleaned the stable and the surrounding regions at a local equestrian club.
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In October 2022, over 150 volunteers from seven regions across Russia served hot food such as Druzhba porridge, pancakes, cheese sandwiches, vegetables, salad, apples, sweets, and tea to nearly 650 needy people. In the Ural region, SSSIO members from three cities regularly delivered food to 20 people every Saturday. The loving service and dedication of the SSSIO volunteers inspired others to serve the needy within their communities.
SSSIO volunteers enthusiastically participated in numerous conferences around the country to share the work of the Organization with all. In October, 40 SSSIO members from 10 cities in the Ural Region of Russia reported on service activities at their Sai centers, while 29 members from 5 groups of the Caucasian region of Russia participated in the Annual Conference. The participants enjoyed a concert, a play with parables and stories from the life of sages, and joyously sang melodious spiritual songs. In the Siberian region, coordinators of the SSSIO wings presented reports of their work.
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Ukraine
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In January 2022, SSSIO volunteers from Ukraine, Moldova, Russia, and Kazakhstan participated in the 24th National Conference of Ukraine. The delegates shared reports of selfless service and devotional activities in their Sai Centers. A musical concert by Sai devotees and their families featured poetry, Indian dance, ballet dancing, a children's violin performance, a musical duet, a solo by a virtuoso accordionist, and the Turiya music group.