Words Of Peace Global News Reports, 2013

A Message Ignites in Ecuador

On June 5, 2013, Prem Rawat spoke at the International Festival of Peace in Peguche, Ecuador: a prestigious event culminating in an award ceremony where Prem was recognized for his work by local leaders. The groundwork for this event was laid many years back by a man named Paul Murtha.

In 2005, Paul, the director of Mountains of Hope (Montañas de Esperanza) and a close associate of The Vibrant Village Foundation, came to Ecuador to live in a village called Paragachi. In doing so, he started a unique series of events.

Report: Event in Buenos Aires, Argentina - May 5, 2013

On May 5th, Prem Rawat followed up his previous night's talk with a powerful examination of what it means to appreciate existence. While this wasn't the sole focus, the concept of appreciation came up throughout his address. In one instance he compared life without appreciation to food with no flavor. If life seems flavorless, he added that there is an art to truly seeing, understanding and appreciating – one that can be practiced.

Eye Clinics Bring Clear Sight to Thousands in India

Imagine living in a rural village where no eye services are available. Both children and adults who are near-sighted simply suffer the repercussions of living in a blurry world. Affected children cannot see the blackboard in school and adults are restricted in what work they can do. As people age and farsightedness begins, they can no longer do many simple tasks such as sewing, reading, or examining something up close.

India has the highest per capita rate of preventable blindness in the world. Uncorrected vision problems, including cataracts, are even more widespread. The problem pervades the rural areas of the country where the poorest of the poor can neither afford corrective lenses nor get to city hospitals that offer free services.

Report: Event in Buenos Aires, Argentina - May 4, 2013

On the waterfront of Buenos Aires, in an area called Puerto Madero, 2,002 people came to hear Prem Rawat speak on May 4, 2013. Among other things, he reminded his audience that there's a difference between simulating and experiencing peace, and that – to truly remove darkness – you need to bring in light. Nothing else will work.

Peace Beats in South London

PeaceBeats aims to introduce peace to young people in south London where there is a persistent problem of violent youth crime. Gang crime is a common occurrence in several of the districts of south London and the young people who have been involved in these gangs are likely to have experienced no direction or sense of ownership of their own lives. Thus the idea of PeaceBeats was created, with music, venue, promotional material, and videos all chosen to bring awareness of the possibility and the value of peace to this young audience.

The videos are mainly animations, although a version of Peace on the Inside, which shows the impact of Prem Rawat's message on the lives of prisoners, has also been shown and received very well. The PeaceBeats project has been a success and has received funding from the Metropolitan police who have recognized that getting young people involved in various positive activities within the community is likely to provide a counterpoint to gang-related behavior. This has helped to pay for a PeaceBeats website, secure a fairly well known act, and pay for one of the venues.


Full Stomachs, Satisfied Hearts

For two years, María Silvestre Requena Pool, 32-year-old mother of a large Mayan family, has been getting up early once a week to help prepare hot breakfasts at the elementary school her children attend.

"At first our husbands got angry because we left early to cook at the school," she says, "but when we prepared for them what we learned at school, they liked it because they were eating new dishes."

"Every day the food is different," says María's 11-year-old daughter, Guadalupe. "It tastes very good. In my house I only eat beans. I´m more interested in coming to school, because we learn more when we eat in school."

Report: Event in San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina - April 27, 2013

On April 27th, 1,179 people piled into a gymnasium-turned-auditorium to hear Prem Rawat speak about the importance of life itself. Sitting on chairs, bleachers and sometimes the floor, all guests were warmly welcomed and admission was free of charge.

FFP Expands Its Helping Hand in Nepal

It seems like only yesterday that the second Food For People (FFP) facility opened near Katmandu, Nepal.

Tucked away in the Ganesh mountains, a tiny village called Tasarpu was chosen as the site where, in 2009, five hundred children and one hundred infirm adults began receiving daily hot meals. Last month over seven hundred children were fed. The number of infirm adults who need this additional meal has dropped to just twenty-six.

Before FFP, Tasarpu children often skipped school in order to help their parents with household chores, such as trekking long distances to fetch water. The addition of one nutritious meal a day by FFP has brought a greater sense of prosperity to the community. As a result, Tasarpu school attendance has increased to over 90% and school enrollment has doubled.

Report: Event in Curicó, Chile - April 20, 2013

At the Gimnasio Municipal Abraham Milad in Curicó, 1,103 guests crowded together to hear Prem Rawat talk about a possibility that only exists "because you are alive." For the next hour, he kept revisiting how the divine is the one that allows this miracle to continue, and that the divine can be known.

Report: Event in Salvador, Brazil - April 5, 2013

On Prem Rawat's first visit to Salvador, he delved into what it means to be part of the infinite, and to have the infinite be part of you. He implored his audience to get to know that divinity while the river of life is still flowing.


TPRF Funds Freshwater Supply, Modern Sanitation for Rural Indian Village

A project to provide clean water and improve sanitation at a girls school in the remote Indian village of Veedur will raise the standard of living for all of the area's 6,500 inhabitants. Clean water is among the most desperate needs in the Villupuram section of the state of Tamil Nadu, where Veedur is located. For the villagers, whose traditional occupation is agriculture, lack of water means no way of making a living. They are trapped in a downward cycle of low literacy and poor health.

TPRF is partnering with The Society for Women Education and Economic Thrust (SWEET), a local nonprofit, to tackle that challenge at a level where it will benefit the most vulnerable members of the community: its schoolchildren.