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Dharm Shala celebrates 94 years of service
Dharm Shala is celebrating its 94th anniversary of service. This charity was founded in 1921 by the late Pandit Ramsaroop Maraj, who was born on November 3, 1889 at Friendship, Wakenaam, Essequibo river.
A resident of the Dharm Shala awaiting her visitor.
He was the younger of two brothers. Maraj was so moved by the dilemma of the insolvent in and around his area, that he gave up his trade as a jeweller and devoted his life to helping the needy.
This ‘Home of Benevolence for all Races’ was officially declared open in 1929 by Rev C.F. Andrews, who was an admirer of Mahatma Gandhi. In 1939 the same Christian chapel in which the service was conducted, was built.
In 1941, the Dharm Shala extended its service to Berbice, with a building of similar capacity to its Georgetown counterpart, a Hindu temple and a chapel.
After the Pandit developed health-related complications in October 1950 at the age of sixty, his successor, Harry Saran Ramsaroop, his son, also gave up his thriving job, to serve the less fortunate in our society.
He ran the organisation for some 65 years in complete voluntary service until he passed away in 2014, six months after the 93rd anniversary.
The Dharm Shala is now being run by Administrative directors, one of whom is the daughter of Harry Ramsaroop, Kella Ramsaroop. To date this organisation which basically takes care of the elderly in the department of health, religious needs, food and shelter, continues to grow, with the less fortunate now being housed in 13 different buildings across the country.
“With the little subsidy from the government and donations from Non-Governmental Organisations (NOG) we pay for the utilities,” said Kella Ramsaroop, Administrator of the Dharm Shala.
She also added, “Three square meals are being served on a daily basis with a total of 1,680 meals per week… We carry the burdens here at the Dharm Shala. Everyone here receives free service and is allowed to keep their pensions and family care without repression.”
Pandit Ramsaroop Maraj life’s work was accomplished via the medium of the Hindu Religious Society, which he also founded.
This “Home of Benevolence for all Races’ has been serving the less fortunate in our society for precisely 94 years now, surviving solely on humanitarian donations.
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