Sewa – Sense of Service, Philanthropy and Volunteerism

Civil society globally has blossomed and thrived with a value system driven by the ideals of empathy, selflessness, and mission-orientation. The core architecture of the civil society group is based on the idea of sustainability in design, volunteer-led in execution, and community-led in the approach toward development.

This model of development, as a bottom-up, community-driven idea is both scalable and sustainable. It is rooted in the idea of inherent selflessness in humanity and the drive towards contributing to the greater good, as popularly referred to in Indian tradition as the idea of Daan (Joy of Giving) and Sewa (Sense of Service). Sewa or selfless service for the cause of development can prove to be the best way of shaping society through initiatives of CSOs around the world. The aim of introducing this new working group is to task CSOs to conceptualize a Sewa-model of development, a development which begins in the mind and capitalizes to establish a knitting relationship among the individuals on the Earth as one family.

Under the Sewa-model of development, a strong preparedness plan could be developed wherein ‘selfless service’, voluntarism and acts of philanthropy would be the three major components for achieving desired outcomes. Philanthropic organizations too, can expand and provide depth to the connotation of the ‘sewa’. The aim of the working group would be to bring these components together for the establishment of a new world, a world where every individual has the sense of service and selfless love for each other can make us the beings of one family.