Recognition as ‘Faith for Earth Councillor’ by United Nations Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care has been a participant in the ‘Faith for Earth’ initiative; a collaborative project between the United Nations Environment Programme (UNEP) and United Religions Initiative (URI) aimed at uniting religions around the world to focus on environmental issues. As part of this initiative’s launch in India, a thorough process was undertaken to select faith-based organisations as ‘Faith for Earth Councillors’. By the grace of Param Krupalu Dev and Pujya Gurudevshri, Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care was conferred this title for 2021-2022 during a recognition ceremony held online on 3rd June to commemorate World Environment Day, which is celebrated annually on 5th June. The online event was attended by faith-based organisations as well as dignitaries including Mr. Atul Bagai – Head, UN Environment Country Office, India, and Dr Iyad Abu Moghli – Director of ‘Faith for Earth’ Initiative and Member of Executive Office, UNEP. The selection process began with a survey in February, during which organisations submitted details related to their philosophy on the environment as well as related projects. In March, through a series of cluster meetings participants discussed on a joint strategy on environmental sustainability in India. Following a two-day online training programme in April, the last step involved organisations submitting detailed plans for their environment-related projects in 2021-2022 along with timelines and action points. Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care was the only organisation to be selected as a Councilor representing the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal (SDG) of ‘Clean Water’. The initiatives such as Soil Biotechnology (SBT), water recharging, desilting of dams etc. were appreciated, and the efforts made to ensure sustainability right from the early planning stages of the Shrimad Rajchandra Ashram Dharampur were lauded. By becoming a ‘Faith for Earth Councillor’, Shrimad Rajchandra Love and Care gets a global platform to spread awareness of the ‘Culture of Compassion’ established by Pujya Gurudevshri and also showcase how it can be implemented in a scalable manner.
