+ + Annual Report [2012 – 2013]

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Operational Director’s Message
Dear Friends,
As I speak to you, my heart is filled with gratitude to God who led all of us (VRO) during the
past 41 years on the whole and in particular last two years in the path of restructuring and
recommitment to the poor. At the same time, my heart is filled with gratitude to all the
wonderful and generous donors of VRO who are standing as the back-­‐bone of the
organization at all times. I have no words to express my growing admiration for the
enduring sacrificial service of the volunteers. At the end, I wish to thank the general body
and the GoB members for their continuous assistance to me and Fr. Santiago to go ahead
with the VISION of Fr. Windey and the mission of VRO.
Preceding the detailed report of programs and activities, I only place before you an
overview of it all, within the larger framework of our VRO's significance and performance in
India and across the world.
When I went around Europe during the last summer 2013, all our friends in Europe told me,
“Peter! We have a long winter, no spring”. But now the temperature in Europe has gone
beyond 40 degrees Celsius. The last summer in India, was unbearable and thousands of
people died. This scenario makes me talk about the environment and the urgent need to
take care of it. VRO, as a committed NGO to the rural poor, need to focus especially on
village environment. Fr. Windey used to talk to us about the environment as follows:
“There is the natural environment: trees, plants, birds, earth and that invisible all-­determining
element AIR, to live by. They are the sources of our joy, strength, hope too.
There is the social environment: the people around us, with their character, ideas, work,
interests, attitudes, feelings that make up for our individual deficiencies in achieving the
intended results.
There is also our spiritual environment within us: the power of Almighty in the creation, the
good will of the people, the desire to strive for perfection, relentless search for truth etc.”
The above elements of the environment are to be taken care of by us. The Volunteers and
the Villagers are to be energized with this thinking of our beloved founder, Fr. Windey. We
have to rededicate ourselves to empower one another and the rural people towards a
greater love for the environment and to protect it with passion and dedication. Let us
march forward to achieve this goal keeping in mind the saying of the Founder:
Fr. Peter Daniel SJ
Operational Director, VRO
“Together Everyone Achieves More!”
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