April 18, 2016

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

Om Sri Sai Ram.

A major earthquake, of magnitude 7.8, struck Ecuador, in South America on Saturday, 16th April 2016. Hundreds of people lost their lives and more than 2,000 were injured in the earthquake, which ripped apart buildings and roads and knocked out power along the Pacific coastline. According to Reuters the number of dead is currently over 400 and that reconstruction will cost billions of dollars.

In addition, a series of earthquakes also rattled Japan, starting on 14th April and a magnitude 7.3 quake struck Kumamoto city in the heavily industrialized Kyushu region on 16th April. According to Reuters, over 40 people have died and hundreds have been injured in the natural disaster. Thousands of people have been displaced, with food and water being scarce due to roads severed by landslides.

At this time, the SSIO Disaster Relief Committee is coordinating efforts with the local and international Sathya Sai Organisations in both Ecuador and Japan. We are assessing the situation and we will let you know how we can best serve our brothers and sisters affected by these natural disasters.

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba has told us that sincere prayer is one of the most effective ways to assuage the grief and suffering of victims of natural disasters. Let us all pray together to Swami to shower His divine blessings on our brothers and sisters afflicted by the earthquakes in both Ecuador and Japan.

Thank you.

Jai Sai Ram.

Lovingly in the Service of Sai,

Narendranath Reddy, M.D.
Chairman, Prasanthi Council