A pillar for society’s poor and powerless…Pandit Suresh Sugrim is a ‘Special Person’

Sep 25, 2011 News

---

Pull Quote: “I felt blessed to be doing something practical toward alleviating, in some measure, the suffering of the poor and powerless.”

By Leon Suseran

A very active pandit in the past, Suresh Sugrim seriously examined his true calling in life and decided that there were too many pandits preaching the scriptures, but the mere application of these teachings were all but evident in their daily lives and in this world. He believed that God was served through service to man but that this was being ignored a great lot since there was too much emphasis on the dogma and too many rituals, without enough consideration given to existential dynamics in the family of mankind.
So he shed his dhoti and kurta, donned jeans and ‘tees’, and embarked on a divine journey that has catapulted into a movement that has achieved a momentum all its own in prayerful service to Man.

Sugrim knew too well about poverty and how it can make suffering become a reality, since he himself came from a very poor family background. It was a motivation to help the poorest of the poor that caused him to establish the New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir, having migrated to the United States since he was a very young man.
He has realized his passion to serve, reach out, and make a difference to those needing love, compassion, kindness and help, to better their lives in one way or another.

But while the great passion was there to care for the poor, he encountered tremendous difficulties for resources to support the dreams that he always had to help the forgotten of society. He related that he literally begged.
“I took a begging bowl to various avenues where Guyanese, primarily, were gathering for events (in New Jersey), often returning home practically in tears because it is very hard to beg,” he recalled.
But he still maintained his dignity and persevered since he believed that it would eventually bear fruit.
“I felt blessed to be doing something practical toward alleviating, in some measure, the suffering of the poor and powerless.”
“The smiles on the faces of those who our Mission has helped over the years — with victims spanning age, gender, race, religion, and

from all and every walk of life — all of whose lives have been touched in some meaningful way, and whose dignity has been restored by our efforts and those of the network of donors and volunteers, both in the USA and Guyana, is the ultimate satisfaction.”
Pandit Sugrim still returns home to Guyana several times annually and, from the resources that he would have garnered overseas, distributes food, clothing and provides shelter for the poor.
HUMBLE BEGINNINGS AND DIFFICULT YEARS
Suresh Sugrim was born on July 13, 1961, at Skeldon, Corriverton, Corentyne, to Sugrim and Kawalla Surjnauth. He is the youngest of nine siblings.
Sugrim received his education at the Skeldon Anglican Scots School, and then went on to New Amsterdam Technical Institute. He was raised in a very strong Aryan/Hindu family and community.
“My Mom and Dad passed on at a very young age and did not have the opportunity to have to live to see the full growth and potential of their children,” he reflected.
On a somber note, he noted that he recently lost a younger sister to ovarian cancer and a brother “who nurtured us in the days of poverty”.
As a child, he was strongly encouraged to get involved with church-related functions. He was very dedicated to serving his community and developed a great love for God, with the latter characteristic eventually establishing him as a respected religious guide.
In the 1980s he went to the United States, actually leaving Guyana with a scholarship to study in India “but due to poverty and financial crises, I could not have afforded to go to India”.
He remained in New Jersey, an illegal alien for a number of years. Those years, according to Sugrim, were very difficult years of not having a job, a Resident Alien (Green) Card, a place to live.
“I remember vividly in the early ‘80s going to America. I ended up in the streets sleeping in a cardboard box, but by the grace of God, I excelled and move beyond.”

He got his legal status after 10 years.
“In 1986, I established the New Jersey Arya Samaj,” he proudly noted.

LOVE IN ACTION FOR GUYANA’S POOR
Pandit Sugrim served with distinction as the founder and senior spiritual leader of the New Jersey Arya Samaj Humanitarian Mission, Inc., continually demonstrating the spirit of brotherhood and love.
During his remarkable tenure, Pandit Sugrim has devotedly served the educational, cultural, religious, social and humanitarian needs of the Arya /Hindu and other communities wherever he has gone.

He has been lauded as a great social worker for his exemplary dedication and steadfast commitment to assisting the less fortunate – children, seniors, abused and battered women, men and orphans. He has embarked in many fund-raising activities for his organization and to bring awareness to domestic violence, various abuses, rape and suicide in Guyana.
Pandit Sugrim has essentially created a standard of excellence that should encourage others who would serve humanity.
He has selflessly taken up several causes and championed the Guyanese charity movement and has devoted his time and numerous vacations, unconditionally, in service to his homeland.

As indicated earlier, through Pandit Sugrim’s guidance, the New Jersey Arya Samaj Mandir Humanitarian Mission was formed.
In 2006, he led a team of volunteers to distribute clothes, food vouchers, uniform vouchers and school supplies, in Guyana. In 2008 and 2009, the mission funded several home-building projects for destitute families.
In Sept 2010, Pandit Sugrim embarked on building a benevolent home in Berbice for the seniors, abused and battered women, men and orphans.  He has commissioned the design and licensing agreement with the local authorities. Through many fund-raising charity events, here in the United States and Canada, he is slowly accumulating the funds to start that project.
In April, last, construction was completed on the first of many homes for an Empowerment Programme. This programme was launched to facilitate families of very limited means having a chance to own a home. The mission funds the cost of building the house and the family repays a small amount of the original cost over time, interest-free.
Pandit Sugrim says in an effort to raise funds for various causes here he has sought assistance from the Guyanese population in New York, New Jersey, Canada, Minnesota, and Florida. In a time when asking for donation was marked with the stigma of personal financial gain, he pressed into parks, concert halls, and popular events in order to generate donations.
“I would like to thank all our donors and supporters in the United States and Guyana for giving me the hope, courage and inspiration for doing what I have been doing in their name and blessings. We have truly made a difference.  All the organization’s funding comes from the benevolence of Guyanese Americans and other communities and for that I am very thankful.”
RECOGNITION AND REFLECTIONS
This Good Samaritan’s efforts have not gone unrecognized and unrewarded. He was awarded the Golden Arrowhead Award of Distinction, Service and Humanitarian for his “outstanding contributions towards supporting and enhancing Guyana’s socio-economic empowerment programmes for the benefit of the helpless and vulnerable”. He received this accolade at the Guyana Mission in New York during this country’s 45th Independence Day celebrations.
“That award is not rightly mine, as it belongs to the donors and volunteers who have contributed to the force the organization has now become,” Pandit Sugrim emphasized.
He has “given up the work of Panditism” because he said he has a bigger calling to serve God’s creatures.
During the month off from his job, he comes home to Guyana “working from one end to another end trying to meet families” and helping them.
“It’s a very difficult situation coming home and seeing how many of our brothers and sisters are living.  The mission’s work is 24/7 because there is no rest. I am always on the run, worrying how I am going to get the money, the finances, what am I going to do, who am I going to reach out to ask for money to bring home to make a difference,” he noted.
“Life is not about religion, it is about a relationship, of reaching out, making a difference, of touching a human soul. God exists in the destitute, the homeless and underprivileged and the joy they bring to my heart is a gift that is priceless. There is no vocabulary I can go through to express that feeling of reaching out and touching those souls that need our love and kindness. Life is not about material things, it is about going out into the community and embracing someone who needs what they can’t have and in God’s Kingdom. It is only fair that we share his love to other human beings. A word of love, kindness…it’s all an act of compassion and giving”.
He noted that many days he has sleepless nights in the USA worrying about Guyana, “worrying how I am going to help them (the poor).”
Pandit Suresh Sugrim is indeed a special person.

---

---