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THE FAMILY AND THE NATION
many ways. Functions were organized on important festivals of the different religions in which people from all the religions participated. Processions were taken out through the streets of the towns to send a message that all religious leaders desired betterment of humankind. Developmental activities in rural areas like building water tanks for schoolchildren or a compound wall for schools were undertaken with participation by local leaders and people of all faiths. Endal village in Tamil Nadu and villages near Adichunchanagiri in Karnataka and Ladnun in Rajasthan are some of the places where substantial healthcare, education and social activities were undertaken. Round table discussions were held in different parts of the country wherein the executive body met with the intelligentsia and a two-way communication was established. Also, students from all corners of India were addressed during these events.
In the years that followed, FUREC multiplied its activities. It launched an all-India essay competition in English that later became an annual feature and expanded to Kannada and Hindi. More than 30,000 students have taken part in it so far and seven books of compilation of the essays have been released.
FUREC conducted more than a thousand workshops in Delhi schools to develop understanding of peace and nonviolence. To develop education and healthcare awareness, a project has been undertaken in Adichunchanagiri under the aegis of the Sri Sri Sri Balagangadharnatha Swamiji. The seer identified fourteen skills, and training workshops have been set up in more than eleven villages where youth are being trained regularly in vocations like carpentry, welding and tailoring. Swamiji has established a separate cadre of heath workers who go to the villages and help people, particularly women, to access medical health.
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