Sewa, an altruistic concept, lies at the very heart of dharmic traditions of India. It involves performing acts of kindness without an expectation of reward or return. In that spirit, British Indians across the UK celebrated Sewa Day last Sunday by coming together in acts of extraordinary kindness and commitment which took them outside their regular routines.
From food collections for the homeless in North London, to home fire safety surveys in West Yorkshire, the range of Sewa Day efforts led by our thriving community organisations this year have been outstanding. Many of the projects involved initiatives to support charities and communities that are relatively unknown, and in real need of volunteers. Here, Veda London's volunteering efforts at a stable where horses are used to help autistic children, and the support lent by Women Empowered to spend time and bring joy to the elderly Gujarati residents of a small care home come to mind. Other equally significant activities across the UK were led by organisations such as National Hindu Students Forum, the HSS, Young Lohana Society, and City Hindu Network to name just a few from the hundred or so projects registered.
The one act of Sewa that stood out for me, and which remains seriously under-represented within in the British Indian community, is that of organ donation. I saw for myself the effort of the dedicated sevaks of Swaminarayan Temple in Kingsbury on Sunday, which, alongside arranging a local food collection for the homeless, also established an NHS blood donation centre and an organ donation signup centre.
The issue of organ donation sadly came into the collective conscience of our community recently when a three-and-half- year-old boy named Aari died in St George’s Hospital after a tragic accident. His family then made the courageous decision to donate their son’s organs to help save others. The inspirational act of this ultimate Sewa occurred against enormous odds – organ donation is still regrettably very uncommon in the Hindu community.
After Aari’s death, Aari’s mother addressed this directly, writing in a heartfelt Facebook post, “We realise that our Hindu community is full of myths, but our story has changed this perception in everyone we know. We will continue to promote the kind giving-of-life that organ donation affords everyone regardless of colour, race, gender or religion.”
Last year, there were only 90 organ donors from Black and Asian communities. Contrast that with the 809 patients from the same background who received an organ transplant from a donor.
On average, three people die every day in need of an organ transplant because there just aren't enough organ donors. This is why Sewa Day has partnered with the NHS and launched a nationwide campaign to encourage British Indians to register themselves as organ donors.
Sewa Day, in the eight years it has been running, has opened minds and doors to various acts of kindness and cooperation, including forging relationships with other communities. It was particularly heartening to see the support leant by the Jewish community given the similarities this community endeavor shares with their Mitzvah Day. It is a joy to see this expression of friendship and collaboration between the Hindu and Jewish faiths, and I am particularly grateful to Laura Marks and her team for their gesture in joining us on our Sewa Day trail last Sunday. The idea has an unmistakably edifying effect on communities to extend solidarity towards each other in the anxious post Brexit climate. I am convinced that in coming together, the Hindu and Jewish communities can be the best possible example of cohesive co-existence and inspire others to come forward in universal, unifying acts of kindness.
To register for organ donation please visit www.sewaday.org. It takes less than 2 minutes to save a life!
Manoj Ladwa is a founding trustee of Sewa Day. He is the chief executive of India Inc, which publishes titles including India Global Business Magazine and the editor of a new study of the UK and India’s partnership, Winning Partnership: India-UK Relations Beyond Brexit.
