India-Tibetan Social Work

Thanks to you the partners/donors of Pennies for Partnerships we successfully distributed 2750 pounds of Tibetan Organic rice this morning.

We reached an entire village which consisted of 50 homes and 80 families. The pictures are worth a million words so this blog will be focused on photos and a few of the compelling emotions and experiences.

One the greatest encounters was with a blind woman 103 years old. She brought me to tears as she was so appreciative she profusely thanked us, prayed over us and blessed us a million times over.

The smiles on the faces brought great joy knowing lives were touched with your gift today.

There was one part of the community that was obviously poorer than the others and their homes were more difficult to get to. The path was very narrow and thanks to the Tibetan Organic Farmers’ staff assistance the tractor went as far back in the woods as possible.

Then we discovered the families who lived on a footpath which was even more difficult to reach.

The community came together to make certain these homes were served and many of the young men came together to help deliver to these homes.

The families were deeply touched by the gifts and the efforts to reach this community ended up to not be as difficult as originally feared.

We reached not only the poor but the elder and disabled who are not able to work.

It is because of you that the people of this tribal community will have a few days in this year of less hunger and less suffering. I can assure you they are truly appreciative for your gifts and they send a huge thank you to you all.

In addition I would like to acknowledge the wonderful work of the Tibetan Organic Research & Training Center staff who worked diligently to make this happen.

The tribal community does work that assists in environmental concerns by working diligently to recycle plastic.

Their efforts are greatly appreciated as the issue of overwhelming amounts of plastic in India is a serious concern. They know we appreciate them and they appreciate you.

If you would like to participate or know anyone who would like to assist in supporting the Tibetan Organic Farmers and feed hungry people by donating 55 pounds of rice please share this website. You can send a comment and I will directly respond as how to donate.
To date Pennies for Partnerships has distributed to 102 households in India.

A total of 5610 pounds of rice have been donated. Each bag (55 lbs) costs $14.00. In addition 100% of your contribution goes towards the purchase of rice and I personally see to it that each bag lands on the doorstep of those who experience hunger in their daily lives.

Thank you from all the people including the Tibetan Organic Farmers.

Kind regards,

Leann

Hello everyone and Tashi Delek.

I have arrived to the next Tibetan settlement camp in Bylakuppe, India (south India). It is currently the Tibetan New Year which is called Losar and things are little quiet here. I arrived the night before last and started the search yesterday for the next Indian Village to be the recipient of the Pennies for Partnerships project.

Based on discussions with people in the community it has been determined that a community of people who work to collect plastic and other recyclable items are in need of assistance.

I visited the community with the assistance of my Tibetan monk friend Yama. We arrived unannounced to assess the community and found a recycling plant where there are mounds of plastic. Anyone who has been to India knows the amount of plastic piled up is a major environmental concern. So as always we were quickly noticed by the community and one man approached us to ask how he could assist. We mentioned we were interested in learning about the community (never mentioning the purpose) and he called one young boy to translate. I was told the community is known as Dungry Garasia in Kushalnagar, India and they are a Rajasthan Tribal Community brought here to work for a recycling company that makes what appears to be PVC. I was told there are 80 families and 50 houses.

They showed me the machinery that breaks down the plastic and then how it is formed into the pipes. I explained that the type of work of collecting the plastic for environmental purposes is very important work and affirmed their efforts. I have often seen people carrying very large bags of plastic and wondered what they do with it so this was a very informative visit.

Then we met some of the families in the community who live in meager conditions. I was told that in the beginning they had some support for food rations but this support has stopped and there are hunger concerns in the community (this was brought to light without any discussion of our project details).

So after meeting with this community I feel as though this is a good village to contribute to as it addresses hunger needs, and the people do work that also support environmental concerns for the purpose of recycling.

We would like to distribute to the entire community but the funds have yet to be received to facilitate such a large distribution. Please if you are interested in supporting this community contact me via comment and I will provide the details of how to contribute. Remember 100% of your contribution goes towards the purchase of 55 pound (25 kg) bags of Organic Rice from Tibetan Farmers which costs approximately $14.00 and will feed a family as we were told for approximately a month.

Thank you for your consideration and interest in gifting to those who suffer from hunger issues.

Leann