Shri Rama-A-Thon 2020 will be held on March 22
Thakur Ranjit Singh
A charity walk that commenced six years ago (2014) has become an annual event of Shri Ram Mandir in West Auckland to help the needy and the vulnerable in our community.
Since this walk-a-thon is organised by Shri Ram Mandir Charitable Trust, it has been named Shri Ram-A-Thon.
This year’s walk, combined with Family Carnival and Sports day, will be held on Sunday, March 22, 2020, starting at 830 am at Shri Ram Mandir located at 11 Brick Street, Henderson.
The Trust initiated this walk initially to raise funds to complete its building project, but encouraged by its popularity, continued the event to help needy, deserving organisations.
This year’s Shri Ram-A-Thon was launched on January 30, 2020 at which people pledged to literally walk their talk in service to humanity.
Helping the vulnerable
After helping Starship Hospital, Saint John Ambulance and Friends of Fiji Health in the past years, the Trust decided to help an organisation that is providing exemplary service to vulnerable sections of our community. Many of these people are in the evening of their life and need palliative care.
West Auckland Hospice has been chosen as the recipient of 2020 proceeds of Walkathon.
Many Indians in general and Hindus in particular may not even have heard of Palliative Care or know what it means and involves. While many of us may have situations in our families which require such care, only a few even know that such services are available in New Zealand.
West Auckland Hospice is involved in providing Palliative Care to those in need and hence Shri Ram Mandir Trust decided to promote it.
This process in itself has provided an opportunity for the Indian community to know about the helpful and philanthropic services provided to the community, and is free when recommended by your local doctor.
Palliative Care
Perhaps it is an opportune time to enlighten our people about Palliative Care.
This approach improves the quality of life of patients and their families facing the problem associated with life-threatening illness.
This is achieved through the prevention and relief of suffering through early identification and faultless and proper assessment and treatment of pain and other physical, psychosocial, spiritual and other problems.
Palliative Care provides relief from pain and regards dying as a normal process.
It neither prolongs nor hastens death and involves psychological as well as spiritual care.
It not only helps patients live as actively as possible until death but also provides support to family to cope during the patient’s illness and in their loss of a loved one.
Palliative Care intervenes early in the course of illness, in conjunction with other treatment meant to prolong life such as chemotherapy and radiation therapy.
Therefore, Palliative Care for those with chronic life-threatening illness provides support from the time of diagnosis throughout the course of treatment and provides care that increases quality of life by anticipating, preventing, and managing suffering.
Hospice Care
In contrast, Hospice care begins after treatment of the disease is stopped and when it is clear that the person is not going to survive the illness, but still providing comforts to the sick and the family.
Dying is an inevitable part of life and no two end of life situations are the same.
Despite advances in modern medicine, everyone will die one day. While treatment is available for most medical conditions, some of them cannot be fixed. A life-limiting or terminal illness is an incurable condition that will eventually lead to a person’s death.
Hence, Palliative Care is provided to those suffering from life-limiting or terminal illness
Shri Ram Mandir requests everyone in the community to join in its walkathon to raise funds for a very worthy cause accessible to all needing their services.
Hospice provides care in your homes as well and costs are covered by government upon recommendation by the doctor.
Opportunity for participation
Fundraising for this worthy cause is just a part of the event on Sunday, March 22, 2020.
It is an opportunity to create awareness of well-being, healthy living, walking and exercising.
It is also an effort to engage with the wider community, including children, youths, elders, women and people from all walks to life, enhancing diversity and multiculturalism.
The Walk will end in Henderson Park where a family sports day and carnival is organised, with food stalls and fun play and games for the whole family.
Please join us for a worthy cause.
For further information and sponsorship forms, please contact Ravend Kishore on 021-2161894. Email: ravenkishore@gmail.com; or Madhavan Raman on 027-8200006; Email: madhavan.raman@xtra.co.nz
Please also Shri Ram Mandir Facebook Page or call (09) 8364647.
Thakur Ranjit Singh is a journalist and a devotee of Shri Ram Mandir and has been participating in Shri Ram-A-Thon since its launch in 2014. He lives in West Auckland.
- Shri Ram Mandir Trust Managing Trustee Pravin Kumar (extreme right) announcing a donation of $43, 442.60 to Friends of Fiji Health Foundation Chairperson Rajesh Chaudhry through Te Atatu MP and Economic Development Minister Phil Twyford at the event held on February 3, 2019.
- Ram-A-Thon 2019 participants at the Shri Ram Mandir complex
- Fun and Sports at the Family Carnival at Ram-A-Thon 2019
(Picture by Thakur Ranjit Singh)
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