The Friends of MSS:

Baba says of Vinoba Bhave, the great disciple of Mahatma Gandhi, "on his shoulders I stood to get a glimpse of the new horizons that beckoned me."

His Holiness, the Dalai Lama met and blessed most of the ailing leprosy patients in Anandwan during his three-day visit in January 1990.

J.R.D. Tata (shown in photo to the right, far right) had a meeting with Baba Amte and Sadhana Tai (shown in photo to the right, left side) in Mumbai at Dr. Bavadekar's Nursing Home, when Baba was on a Peace by Peace mission and touring Mumbai's riot affected areas in 1993. J.R.D Tata was a lifetime friend of Baba Amte with a deep and abiding commitment to Baba's life mission.

Baba Amte in sitting posture, one of the last photographs in this poster taken in 1960 with his lifelong associate, renowned Gandhian, Annasaheb Sahasrabuddhe, who was for many years, Secretary of the Sewagram Trust at Wardha and in 1960, Chairman Standing Committee of Rural Industries of the Planning Commission, Government of India. Other friends of Maharogi Sewa Samiti incljude the Gandhian, Dada Dharmadhikari and S.M. Joshi, founder of the Socialist Party of India.

The legendary P.L. Deshpande (shown in photo to the right), grand old man of Marathi theatre was also a close and committed friend of Baba Amte. He was instrumental in spreading the message of Anandwan to the rest of the world. Yadunath Thatte, V.V. Shirwadkar (winner of India's highest literary honor, the Gyanpeeth Award), Dr. Shriram Laagoo (noted actor) and others have also been good friends of the organization.

Service Civil International (SCI) a post-World War I peace group, founded in 1920, believes in "Deeds, Not Words." The support of SCI proved to be a turning point in the history of Anandwan. In 1953, people from different walks of live belonging to more than 20 nations visited Anandwan as part of an SCI team. They built the first 3 pukka houses in Anandwan. Alfred Knaus, a German and a member of this team, became the first European to step on Anandwan soil. Since 1953, SCI has periodically held camps for voluntary labor at Anandwan. In 1990, SCI organized celebrations to mark 70 years of its existence in two places in the word, one of them was Anandwan.

Count Arthur Tarnowski (shown in photo to the right), founder of the Take Heart Foundation, UK has been a close friend of Baba Amte for the last 37 years. Despite the fact that both his legs are affected by polio, the Count embarked upon an expedition around the world, based on which he published a book entitled, "The Unbeaten Track." Two chapters of the book were devoted to Anandwan, and the work of Baba Amte. All proceeds from the sale of his book were donated by the Count to Maharogi Sewa Samiti to start House of Opportunities (Sandhi Niketan). Tarnowski has visited Anandwan 38 times in the past 36 years and remains one of the pillars of support of the organization.

Swiss Aid was the single largest donor to the Maharogi Sewa Samiti. In 1960, the Swiss ambassador to India, Dr. J Cuttat, visited Anandwan at the behest of M.K. Vellody, Indian ambassador to Switzerland.

The Ambassador's visit to Anandwan drew a lot of media attention in Switzerland, which in turn created strong support for the work of Baba Amte. The people of Switzerland joined what Baba calls the "Fellowship of Pain" and donated generously to the people of Anandwan. For 24 years, between 1960 and 1984, this partnership helped build several of the communes, hospitals, schools and colleges at Anandwan.

Pierre Oppliger, former Liaison Officer for Swiss Aid Abroad in India, Service Civil International and Oxfam Australia, has been a friend of Anandwan since 1953. After reading a book on Baba Amte's life (The Last, The First) written by Jean Buhler, Loti Raman, a Swiss lady who was married to an Indian, decided to bequeath all her property and assets to Baba Amte. These funds were used to build the Loti-Raman Home for Senior Citizens at Anandwan. The renowned British economist, Baroness Jackson of Lodsworth, Barbara Ward was so deeply moved by the work that she donated her entire award money to the Maharogi Sewa Samiti.

The most recorded singer in the history of music, Queen of Melody, Lata Mangeshkar and her compatriot, Kishore Kumar raised Rs 3.4 million at a famous concert in Mumbai in 1984. Mother Gavrilia, member of the Orthodox Church of Greece, was born as Avrilia Papyanni in Constantinople. A disciple of Swami Sivananda of Hrishikesh, she worked in Anandwan for several years, dressing the wounds of leprosy patients. Affectionately known as Sister Leela by the Anandwan family, she was among the first foreigners to work at Anandwan.

Willie Randin, the Chairman of Nouvelle Planete, who had earlier worked in Albert Schweitzer's Lambarine Hospital in South Africa, came to know about MSS. Since 1993, Nouvelle Planete has organized several trips of European students to Anandwan. These students spend 3 weeks of their summer holidays at Anandwan, working n various projects. They also help raise funds for Anandwan. Nouvelle Planete has helped in rebuilding and upgrading of the community development project at Somnath, the farming improvement project, greenhouses, irrigation facilities, community biogas plants, youth villages, pasture development and the plastic re-use project.

In a unique children to children support program Linder Postalzes (Netherlands Committee of Children) has organized children to raise funds through walks, sales of stamps and other events for Anandwan's mentally and physically challenged children. Over the last 15 years, this help has been invaluable in building residential facilities for these children.

In the United States, ASHA (www.ashanet.org), AID (aidindia.org), and NIYA (niya.org) are committed to long-term projects, and in Canada, Maharashtra Sewa Samiti Organization (MSSO) has become attached to the Lok Biradari Project, which works with tribal people.

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