Faiths Act

Sewa is the Hindu concept of providing selfless service to those less fortunate than ourselves – without the expectation of return. It is at the core of Hindu teachings and the driving force behind my passion for social justice in communities.

During last month’s interfaith action training we were very lucky to have Arup Ganguly, chairman of Sewa Day, come in to speak to us about his organisation and annual event.

Sewa Day focuses on bringing people of diverse backgrounds together to work on grassroots community projects. It involves no fundraising at all, just people with a common interest in volunteering – sharing their time, compassion and resources.

My Faiths Act Fellowship partner, Cat and I jumped at the chance of getting involved and registered ourselves for a gardening project based in Kingsbury, London. Our task for the day was to work as part of a team to transform an elderly lady’s garden. She unfortunately suffers from poor health and lives alone so the garden had been neglected for years. Trees and bushes had overgrown, weeds were cropping up and the grass had not been cut at all. As a result of all of this there was no adequate light entering the house – the garden was in need of much attention.

Armed with shears, saws, rakes and plant pots we worked hard to make the garden somewhere that the lady could enjoy and relax. She was extremely happy with the results and that is more than we could have ever asked for. We feel truly blessed to have had a chance to take part in the project. It was great working with such a diverse team and a timely reminder that everyday should be ‘Sewa Day’.

Harsha Sharma, Faiths Act Fellow