Students of SAI International School and SAI International Residential School visited Swami Bichitrananda Kalyan Ashram, Cuttack on Friday, October 4, 2019 to celebrate the Daan Utsav or Joy of Giving Week.
It was a joyful time for the 24 SAIoneers who spent some quality time with the 50 children of the Ashram. The happiness of the students compounded when they were informed that the Father of the Nation had also spent some time in the Orphanage during his tour to Odisha in June 1925.
The Ashram earns the recognition of being the 2nd Orphanage established in undivided India, the first one being in Lahore, Pakistan. It was established in the year 1925 by Swami Bichitrananda Das, an Advocate and associate of Utkal Gaurav Madhusudan Das. It is also considered as the oldest Orphanage of Independent India. Presently 50 boys in the age group of 5 to 17 years reside in the Orphanage.
Students from both the schools mingled with the inmates, they danced and sang together as well as shared some pleasant experiences, to commemorate the Daan Utsav or Joy of Giving Week. They gifted the children a pouch each called ‘Apna Thaili’, to store their souvenirs. The students were also presented with a towel and some stationaries, along with a briefing on the importance of cleanliness.
As part of the ‘100 Library Project’ of SAI International School, the students gifted a library, consisting of an Almirah and some books to the ‘Anathashrama Government Primary School’. The SAI International students also spoke about the significance of book reading and inspired the Ashram children to inculcate the habit at an earliest.
SAI International Education Group celebrates the Joy of Giving Week every year to inculcate the value of compassion and empathy in the students and develop in them an inner urge to render their contribution towards making the society a better place.