Itasca temple throws a lifeline for starving kids

BY A STAFF WRITER

, Illinois: Continuing its yeoman’s service, Midwest Swaminarayan Temple located in the unincorporated DuPage County organized yet another humanitarian activity on December 14 by sponsoring the Feed My Starving Children (FMSC) program.

About 500 volunteers, along with temple organizers and the FMSC staff, prepared and packed a record 110,000 life-saving meals. Each packet contained rice, soy, dehydrated vegetables and vitamins.

The temple authorities allowed the use of the facilities, donated the cost of food items, arranged for volunteers and a provided a delicious lunch. An FMFC staff official said the shipment was meant for children in Kenya, Africa.

On this occasion, Itasca Mayor Jeff Paul said that he shared the cause, which, he said, was ‘extremely honorable’ and he was proud to have ‘our DuPage County-based Itasca temple organizing this massive effort to feed starving children’.
In a show of unity, he even participated in the packing of meals and was happy to join other Itasca families in the activity.

The project was initiated by Vivek Brahmabhatt and other active organizers were Mitul Rao and Purvish Patel. Also, Jagdish Patel, Ghanshyam Patel and Vishnu Patel from the temple management fully supported the program.

The Itasca temple has, indeed, set an example by providing health fairs, health clinics, eye clinic, youth programs, language classes and the temple management is always willing to help more and more humanitarian causes.

No wonder, more and more institutions come forward to help the poor and starving children in other parts of the world.

The FMSC started in 1987 by supplying food packs to needy children in Honduras. It was one of the first major organizations to rush help to the victims of the earthquake. The message spread far and wide with the result that today nutritional food packs are donated to more than 70 countries all over the world.

As a temple official said: “Hunger is the world’s greatest solvable problem”.