Jain Digest 2003 01 Vol 22 No 1

Author(s): Federation of JAINA
Publisher: USA Federation of JAINA

Page 8

LACHHWAD ON OUR MIND
Lachhwad is the town where our Kshatriyakund Teerth is located. Over two thousand years ago, Bhadrabahu Swami gave a vivid and detailed description of Kshatriyakund in the Kalp Sutra. This is the land of Shri Mahaveer Swami's Janma and Diksha Kalyanaks. It was a capital city during the reign of King Siddharth. This land of three kalyanaks of our last Teerthankar is one of the poorest towns in Bihar today. Yatris on Pilgrimage of Shree Samet Sikharji try to include pilgrimage of Kshatriyakund but many are afraid to go to Lachhwad because of the unfounded fears of being robbed or killed. But it is true that there are no Jain families living in Lachhwad today. Most of the population is known as Adiwasis and they are Non Vegetarians. Message of Mahaveer in the land of Mahaveer is all but forgotten.
Until last year, our Temple and Dharamsala were the only brick and mortar building in Lachhwad. There are no industries, hospitals or any kind of job opportunities. The only available income in town was cutting wood from the trees on the mountain or from pilgrims. Doliwalas make about two to three thousand rupees a year if they are lucky. Kids earn from begging. Most kids do not attend school. The cycle of poverty will keep rolling on and on from one generation to the next without any hopes of better days. JAINA Yatris of 2001 Pilgrimage visited the only school in town and were moved by the horrible conditions in which the kids were studying. The school had no roof. Students would stand under the tree during rains. Our Yatris decided to do something. Fortunately on their next stop at Veerayatan, Acharya Shree Chandanaji agreed to build a school with the JAINA support. Within 5 days of that understanding between JAINA and Veerayatan, someone in Lachhwad donated the land for the school!
Two years later, this January, the 2003 JAINA pilgrims got to visit the new Teerhankar Mahaveer Vidyalay built and run by Veerayatan. The school with ten classrooms and 150 students is nothing short of miracle created in just 18 months. It is still a work in progress. Concrete columns rising from the terrace and construction crews are unmistakable signs of more good things to come. By May 2003, three hundred more students will be added. Some of our Yatris had tears in their eyes as they heard the young ones in uniforms recite Navakar Mantra and other devotional songs.
6/ JAIN DIGEST. Spring 2003 Jain Education International 2010_03
Dilip V Shah, Philadelphia
The school is operational but it is in dire need of help. The fifty Rupees fee per month pays less than twenty five percent of the cost of running the school and most parents in that town can not even afford the fee, the cost of uniforms or the school supplies. The Pilgrimage Committee and the Teerthodhhar Committee of JAINA are working together to support this school and in a sense become Teerth Rakshak of Lachhwad. Yatris of 2001 Pilgrimage were the catalyst for this project.
2003 Yatris have also done their part. One couple has committed $5,000 to purchase the adjacent land parcel that will be used as a playground and for future expansion. Another Yatri has pledged computers and sewing machines for the students. In exchange for schooling costs of their children, all fourteen karmacharis of our Dharmasala pledged to become vegetarian. For the next school year beginning in May, we decided to grant one hundred scholarships of $250 each for the needy students of Lachhwad that will last three years and cover tuition, uniforms and school supplies. Our Yatris have pledged 40 scholarships and will help raise the remaining scholarships. Half of the $250 from each scholarship will go towards supporting the child and the other half will be awarded to school to lessen their deficit. The three year scholarships are need based and will continue even if the child does not do well. The scholarship program will be administered in USA by Niyati Sheth of Edmond, OK and Nik Daftary of Waco, TX
We at the Pilgrimage Committee and the Tirthodhhar Committee of JAINA are convinced that this school will bring lots of good things to our Teerthbhoomi. Every Doliwala, or town person we came in contact with in Lachhwad appealed our Yatris to get their children admitted into the "American School". Imagine what your $250 will do. For less than twenty-five cents per day, a child will be educated, obtain Jain Samskar and one day break out of the cycle of poverty. Jain pilgrims will be seen in the town not as targets but as benefactors of the town. What can Jains or JAINA do in India that can have more profound impact than educating the poor? Vidya Daan lasts a lifetime!
If you would like to help, please contact: Dilip V Shah at (215) 561 0581 or Kirit Daftary at (254) 776-4209