When Sewa becomes Pilgrimage

 

The pilgrimage to Haj is considered as one of the five pillars of Islam. It is an annual Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca, Saudi Arabia. As per Islamic belief, Haj is a mandatory religious duty for Muslims that must be carried out at least once in their lifetime by all adult Muslims who are physically and financially capable of undertaking the journey, and can support their family during their absence. Naturally, as Hindus all over the world aspire to visit Kashi or Benaras once, Haj Yatra is a life aspiration for Muslims. Khalida Begum of Jammu also had a planning for the same which was shattered with the Covid-19 crisis. Along with the halting of the air services, even the holy places were also closed to counter the spread of the deadly virus. Amidst such a situation, Khalida Begum decided to pray to the Almighty through the service of the needy and poor.

 

Impressed with the social work done by RSS inspired Sewa Bharati, Khalida Begum, 87, from Jammu has donated Rs. 5 lakhs to the organisation. She had saved this amount for her upcoming Haj yatra. However, due to the outbreak of the Wuhan/Corona virus pandemic and the lock down across the world, she had to cancel her plans.

 

In a letter addressed to Sewa Bharati, Khalida Begum writes that she was planning to go for Haj this year on her own expenses but as the country is going through the difficult time due to COVID-19 outbreak she decided against performing Haj this year.

 

She further writes that she came to know that Sewa Bharati is working tirelessly for extending much needed help to the needy persons. Hence she decided to donate Rs. 5,00,000 /- to the organisation so that the amount can be best utilized for taking care of those who are in urgent need of help. The receipt of the cheque which was attached to Khalida Begum’s letter has been confirmed by Sewa Bharati.

 

Every devout Muslim wishes to go to Hajj which is a Islamic pilgrimage to Mecca in Saudi Arabia. This year however Mecca too has also been closed due to the Wuhan virus.

 

Sewa Bharati has been providing food and essential items for those affected by the lock down in Jammu and other parts of the union territory. The organisation has a vast presence in the union territory and regularly organises blood donation camps, medical camps, eye-testing camps, relief and rehabilitation activities, cleaning activities, and many others. Sewa Bharati was actively involved in providing relief and rehabilitation of civilians affected by the Jammu Floods in 2014.