The spirit of the holidays became a cross-cultural experience when Washington D.C.-based Ahimsa Youth Organization (AYO) served a pure vegetarian Indian lunch to the homeless at the Community for Creative Non-Violence (3rd and E Streets NW) on November 14, 1998. High-school students to adults, served pulav, aloo matar, naan, and a variety of Indian dishes to about 175 homeless individuals. "It was a great success," said Siddarth Govindani, one of the volunteers and AYO's board members. "People really seemed to appreciate trying new food. We are very grateful to everyone who helped supply the food and organize the event."
Many restaurants and local residents helped donate and prepare food. Tiffin (Langley Park, MD), Aditi Cuisine (Washington D.C.), Bombay Palace (Washington, DC), Delhi Dhaba (Bethesda, MD), and India Grill (Rockville, MD) were among the participating restaurants. "We were very impressed by the local support we received," said Bharat Govindani, another AYO board member. "We were initially worried about being able to collect enough food, but we ended up with more than enough for the event."
In spite of having a preference for meat, many homeless seemed to enjoy the idea of trying new food. "We could have added meat dishes to the menu," said AYO's President and founder, Ashish Dashottar. "But we felt that it would be better to serve a tasty vegetarian cuisine for moral reasons instead of the traditional turkey meal. Overall, we were very happy the CCNV embraced the idea so quickly."
AYO is a non-profit, 501(c)(3) organization that was founded in March 1997 to educate non-Indians about the culture of the Indian Subcontinent through cultural programs and assist the less fortunate through community service. Last September,
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AYO organized a "Festival of India: A Village Bazaar" weekend at the Capital Children's Museum in Washington D.C., which involved performances by local artists and youth and attracted over 400 people.
From November 20 to December 22, 1998, AYO also held its 2nd Annual Used Clothes and Toys Drive for the homeless which resulted in the collection of hundreds of clothes and toys from its drop-off points at local temples and grocery stores. All clothes and toys collected were given to several homeless shelters in the Washington D.C. area . "It is nice to see the Indian community collectively cooperate and help out people in need. It was only with their help that the clothes drive was a big success this year," said Dashottar.
Membership to join the Ahimsa Youth Organization is free. AYO welcomes members from all ethnic backgrounds without discrimination to age, religion or political philosophy. AYO, in particular, encourages high school students to participate in AYO sponsored activities since it is an excellent opportunity to gain community service credit and meet people of the same interest. "I found this organization because I believed there was a void to be filled in terms of increasing cultural awareness about South Asia," said Dashottar. "I felt that by bringing people together through educational programs and community service, I could strengthen this awareness and help people at the same time." To learn more about the organization, call Ashish Dashottar at (301) 984-1674, send email at ahimsayouth@hotmail.com or visit AYO on the Internet at www.ayo.org.
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