A $300,000 fully-equipped ambulance will be donated to Hato Hone St John this week to mark the 10th anniversary of the opening of Sai Baba Mandir in the Auckland suburb of Onehunga.
Shri Shirdi Saibaba Sansthan of NZ Inc, Auckland began raising funds for the ambulance in 2020, six years after the temple was inaugurated in 2014.
“Guruji Dr Chandra Satpathy ji will do the handover to the St John team, with several community leaders in the audience, on February 9 between 10am and noon, at our temple premises, followed by lunch. All are welcome, says founder secretary Bhaskara Reddy Duvvuru.
Hato Hone St John, also known as St John Ambulance of New Zealand, is a charitable organisation that provides healthcare services to Kiwis. The organisation provides ambulance and other health services throughout the country.
The Sai Baba Sansthan is known for undertaking several projects to support the people in
distress all over the world affected by floods, earthquakes, tsunamis, etc.
It donated $60,000 to Starship Foundation from 2016-2020. Sansthan has taken up several projects in the last four years to raise money for the ambulance, including organising several music concerts, food stalls, fundraising drives by contacting the devotees, and releasing a souvenir with the support of the business community.
“Thanks to the relentless work by the Executive Committee and devotees, the Sansthan could raise the required amount,” says Duvvuru.
The Sansthan adopted the theme ‘Temples should be the focal point of community development’, at Shirdi Sai Devotees Global meet in February 2016.
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