A 2013 New Year's Message from Prem Rawat about TPRF

Quite a few years back, through my travels which, usually I travel to talk about peace
to people who are interested I came across this one area in India, Ranchi particularly.
And I looked around, and people were extremely poor. And the question I asked was,
“What can we do for these people? How can we help them?”
So, of course there was a lot of ideas. And at that time I was talking to this person,
and he was telling me how desperate the situation is for these people, who are actually the
natives in that region and the whole area has been allocated to them. And I was like,
“Well, you know, there’s something we should be able to do to help them.”
2001, The Prem Rawat Foundation was created.
My name is Prem Rawat and I am the founder of TPRF, The Prem Rawat Foundation.
Once we had decided that the best way to help these people
would be to provide them with good, clean, food—because there was a myriad of
problems that were being experienced by the locals.
Poor health. They did not have enough food, so they couldn’t go on with their schooling.
And so ... it was a mess ... you know? And just for one reason
and the reason was, that they couldn’t get food.
Crime rate was very high. People were stealing from each other.
And the people who were elderly, again, did not have good clean food, good clean water.
So their health would suffer. Children would miss school.
And very few would actually move on to go through all their schooling.
So, instead of trying to create programs for all the different things that were the problems,
we just took one. And I want to talk to you about this, because it has had a profound impact,
not only in Ranchi, but in Dhading. And not only in Dhading, but in Ghana as well.
With the help of the volunteers and people like you, it has been made possible
that these people finally are receiving the kind of help that is making a difference.
Now, the Foundation was made in 2001; so it’s been running for over a decade.
And just to talk a little bit. Because I’m not here to ask you for more money,
or this but I want to share the good news with you. And that is the reason why I’m talking to you today.
And the news is that there has been a profound difference on all levels in these communities.
Not only the children are doing better in school. They’re staying in school.
They’re receiving proper education, graduating, and moving on to careers.
At least, they can choose careers, because they are getting the schooling that they need.
But, there has been an amazing rippling effect throughout the community.
Just because they could get good, clean food, and good, clean water.
And not only that. We made sure that they could be taught simple hygienic practices.
To wash your hands before you eat, to wash your hands after you eat.
And all of these things have dramatically dropped
the rate of people falling sick, just from little things.
And then, there’s the good news. I didn’t expect this. But the next thing you know,
the crime rate is also going down. That people are getting along better with each other.
Because they, they are not stressed out.
They’re not in this thing of, “Where am I going to find my next meal.”
So, one project and I can say, “one little project,”
has made a huge impact in the community.
And this is what I envisioned that we could do. That we could bring people, with dignity,
.... without a hidden agenda. Without a hidden agenda.
You know, because there are a lot of people who have a hidden agenda.
And I didn’t want that. I didn’t want anybody to convert to anything.
I wanted people to receive the food, not as a handout, but with dignity.
And one of the things I talk about a lot is how this Foundation is really there to make
sure that things happen with dignity. That people experience peace, that people experience
prosperity in their lives. These things are not unrelated to the fundamentals of a human being.
We need dignity. Whether you say that, somebody has to respect us or just merely give us a
little bit of elbow room, so we can believe in what we want to believe in.
We can focus in our lives, achieve the objectives that we want for ourselves. And you will be surprised.
Not for everyone, that they are sky high objectives. They are simple objectives.
People want to be happy. People want to prosper.
And this is the kind of help that we have been bringing to the communities.
Now, certainly not enough. And I was just recently in Ghana.
And we were doing the, visiting the Food for People facility in Ghana,
which I mean, you look at it and it is just amazing to see all the kids
who are benefitting from it. And where at one point,
they had dwindled down to almost nothing, now they’re thriving.
And that’s what’s important. That a little bit of help can bring that to people of these
simple little communities. They don’t have big ambitions. They don’t have big dreams.
Their dreams are simple, and they can be fulfilled. They want peace in their lives; they want
to be, they want to feel that they have dignity in their lives.
And of course, they want to prosper in their lives.
And so, it is such good news. That, these are the projects that have been successful,
continue to be successful, and keep on bringing a beautiful, beautiful environment.
When you look at it, you know, I mean, we spend so much money in other countries for law enforcement,
which is necessary, for prison systems, for this and that. And here, all we did was, provided
a little bit of clean, local food, I mean food that they could eat.
You know, and that’s important. Yeah, we could have provided them with stuff that they’re
not familiar with. They can’t eat that! And so, in the same token, when they were
getting this help, and as little as it is, even the crime rate started going down.
And, I would have never imagined that something like that would happen. But it did.
And so it’s, you know, so good, so good to see this in person. To see the change.
I mean, I know a lot of you don’t know where Dhading is, but it’s a little place in Nepal.
And it takes a, quite a while to get there, especially if you’re driving from Kathmandu.
But, there is this little village. And in this, middle of this little village, there
is a little heaven. And, people come, little kids come. And they, they, they go from long
distances to be able to get that food that can nourish them; that can bring them to the
point where they can continue with what they want to do.
So, I certainly want to thank all those volunteers who have been helping with these projects.
And I also want to thank all of you, who have been helping with these projects, and making
this a reality. I know I am the founder of TPRF. But in a way, all of you are founders
of this wonderful little organization that has been, and is trying to help people.
Not create bureaucracies, not create huge administration. But really focus on what is
going to help the communities. And I am so excited, that I am looking forward to 2013,
2014, and, of course, many, many more years after that. That, TPRF will be continue to
bring this beautiful help, dignity, peace,and prosperity,
to many, many more communities around the world.
So, thank you so much for your support and your help.
I would like to wish everyone a year full of peace and prosperity. Happy New Year.