In this statement, we wish to summarize and report on the activities of the International Society for Krishna Consciousness (ISKCON) in Ukraine during the almost one-and-a-half difficult and tragic years of the unexpected war that brought immeasurable suffering to the entire nation.
Food-for-Life Nepal (FFLN), a non-governmental, non-profit organization dedicated to the well-being of marginalized children and communities in Nepal, recently hosted a stall at the Administrative Staff College in Lalitpur as part of the 15th Human Rights National Magna Meet 2023 held on December 8th.
For the past fifteen years, ISKCON Tucson has been serving the city's unhoused with a healthy seven-course meal along with the chanting of the holy name.
ISKCON Malaysia Headquarters, Sri Jagannatha Mandir in Kuala Lumpur, achieved a record during the 2023 Damodara month with 222,709 lamps offered and 19,821 plates of prasadam shared. Out of this, a team of devotees conducted the Damodara Program, also known as Deepa-Damodara Program, at 25 local primary schools (ages 5-12), facilitating the offering of 104,747 lamps and the distribution of 8,656 plates of prasadam.
Food for Life Hungary reached a historic milestone on 17 November when the head of the humanitarian program, Bhakta Vatsala Dasa, received the "For the City of Budapest" award from the capital's mayor, Gergely Karacsony. The honor, given on Budapest's 150th Birthday, also conferred honorary citizenship on Bhakta Vatsala. The 150th celebration commemorated the unification of the three historical parts of the city: Buda, Pest, and Óbuda.
In October, HH Niranjana Swami shared his "Third Report from Ukraine" with North American leaders. Along with Zonal Supervisor Acyuta Priya Das, they detailed a broad range of topics on the current state of the community and ongoing service in the country.
On Saturday, 7 October, His Holiness Indradyumna Swami visited the informal Bottlebrush settlement in Chatsworth, south of Durban. Residents were treated to a taste of the spiritual world through a vibrant and colourful harinam party and delicious prasadam distribution.
Astottara Sata Dasa, a native of Brunswick, Maine, USA, spent several years of his youth growing up at the ISKCON Gita Nagari Farm. Later, he graduated from Hampshire College and is currently a woodsman in the Maine woods. This week, he will be sharing online about his extraordinary service and experiences in the Democratic Republic of Congo.
On June 12, devotees returned to survey the condition of the ISKCON Kherson Temple in Ukraine, which was damaged during the ongoing conflict there. The Kherson region has also been in the news this week because of the bursting of the Kakhovka dam early Tuesday morning. The breach unleashed floodwaters across a portion of the war zone and is effecting thousands of residents and animals.