Model, actor... and change agent

Mr Melbourne launches new organisation to encourage social change

Mr Melbourne Australasia

2013 Puneet G ula ti recently officially launched his noL- for-profiL o rganisation O n e World Family (OWF) are filmed in documentary form and presented to the world through a webisode posted on OWF's YouTube channe l. The documentaries aim to make peop le th in k about the power of the common person and his ability to do sometbing special for the community OWF's first project T:-Jope to Homeless aims to better the lives of homeless people a nd raise awareness of the increasing prominence of homelessness, particularly in the western and northern suburbs of Melbourne. made an impact by providing a makeover for a homeless man, sponsored b y Penny's Salon in Box Hili. The man was tben given private accommodation and work so that he could earn money and smrc a new life. ro impact v iewers. Audiences can learn from both the good and tl1e bad by watching responses co situations surrounding an is s ue. j\fr Andrew Crisp said he is impressed witb tl1e organisation's focus o n homelessness, as it is O\XIF w ill maintain the webisode and visual media strategy. They strongly believe that visual media, a long with the vision of O\XIF, has greater power a difficult i ssue for police to deal with and is always prioritised in order to keep homeless peopl

The lau nch took p lace at his re siden ce, wi th promin ent figures including Assi sta n t Commiss ione r of Police Victoria Mr Andrew Ctisp and Djrcctor of the Victor ian M LLl ticulmral Commissi on Senio r Sergeant Mr Rud y Monteleo n e in attendance.

O\XIF plans to further the organisation's impact b y rai sing awareness of a broade r range of issues from violence related causes to environrnenml concerns. Their main objective is to empower peop le to influencing change. If OWF can do it, so they.

OWF hopes to gain the support aud sponsorship s of local and in ternational businesses to enhance their cause Being a notfor- profir, they also rel y heavi ly on public donations and support.

Ravi Singh

continued to refurbish the hall. The day's activities in cluded M11rti Pra11 Prn1ishtbt1, the ac tual 111oorti sthapno and _pra11pmtishtht1 supported by t1t11"ti and Sha11ti Path. The ceremony ended wi th offerings of prasnd aud 1110haprasad.

For the Sankat Jvfochan Samiti, it was a long-cherished dream realised.

Tbey celebra ted the grand opening of a temple dedicated to Lord Hanumru1 in south -east Melb01.un e recendy

They call i t 'Ken dra', or centre, to denote tliar it b inds, rather tban segregates humanity.

Fighting me deplorab le 8 degrees of soggy Melbourne weather at 9am o n Sunday, 15 June, a 100 plus of us were already congregated at tl1e venue. A select 40 of us rook our sears in groups of eight around five individual sacrificial fires know n as Hova11 K1111d.s. Simul mneousl y and wimonr b reaking the continuity of the rhythm, we chanted the uhutis, all e leven thous a nd of t he Gtl)'Ohi Mo11tra.s d iscip li ne, and b urned consecrated saat11ag1i ro seek god's bl essings for our physical aud sp iri n1al purificatio n. Volunteers in t he b ac kground

The Kendra boasts 200 p lus square m e tres of the hall t hat is used for spirin1al activities, and e ight sq uare metres of office space ln Ram Datbar, the devotees perceive the san ctified manifestation of f-It11111111,m;i, D111;go Mato, Gonesl?J~ Shirdi Sai Bnba, Sbivali11g, and also 1'\Javagraha, the nine planets that deter mine destinies. The Kendra will be forme r augmented with deities in years to come.

Just as unco n ditionall y as Hanuman served Lord R ama, the Sankat Moch an Samiti, a welfare organisation, is committed co providing physical, morn! and spiritual guidance tb those of any colour, caste or creed in need. Irrespective of one's religious beliefs, the Samiri invo lves itsel f in providing culrnral heri tage education to members of the fastest growing community in Victoria, the Indian communi ty.

Juxtaposed imaginative ly in a refurbished shed at 1289/\ North Road ia Huntingdale, the Kendra is by the Mo nash Univers ity bus stop and a convenient walking distance from tl1e station, off street parking aplenry Fo r more informatio n , please contact Samiti President Dr. Sunila Srivastava on 0427 274 462.

George Thakur