At the start of this month, health minister Dr. Christian Tufton handed over a ‘wellness bench’ to the Bustamante Children’s Hospital as part of the Do Your Share Mental Wellness Campaign. The hospital had introduced an Animal-Assisted Recovery and Care Programme (AARCP) as a combined spiritual and psychological support initiative to complement medical care being provided by staff.
Under the programme, children are encouraged to interact with animals as part of efforts to speed up their recovery. Present at the handover ceremony for the wellness bench was chairman of the hospital, Kenny Benjamin. Benjamin was announced as one of the delegates who formed Prime Minister Andrew Holness’s team to India between September 30 and October 3 this year. Also in the delegation was founder and CEO of the Amber Group and director of the Art of Living Foundation, Dushyant Savadia.
While in India, Holness met Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who has spoken glowingly of Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar over the years. Modi won his third term as Prime Minister of India a few months after he raised eyebrows by visiting the underground site of ancient Dwarka. Dwarka is the city of Lord Krishna. During his visit, Modi offered prayers.
The United Nations has declared June 21 as International Yoga Day, and Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar has commended Modi for getting India to a state where the country, its culture, and its religion now get the worldwide respect it deserves.
Christian family counsellor Dr. Nicole Holness does not believe the church should take Gurudev Sri Sri Ravi Shankar’s visit lightly.
“I do believe that there is a push to incorporate Hinduism in Jamaican schools, hospitals, and the society in general. It is sadly a part of a global move to institute a one-world religion, which will be a big mixing pot of all religions as syncretism. As Christians, we must heed the clarion call to move out of the four walls of the church, the building, and begin to aggressively evangelise, teach, disciple, and pray for the salvation of our citizens in the Christian faith that has been tried, tested, and proven and is the backbone, the bedrock, the foundation of our heritage,” she said.