Justice for ALL

July 6, 2013 at 1:26 am (Blog, tibet)
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Happy Belated Independence Day to ALL and Happy Birthday to His Holiness the Dali Lama

July 4th- I am writing today as I reflect on what this day means to me personally. After my long stay in India I have come to realize more and more that this day has greater significance than I ever realized. I sit and ponder with full gratitude the idea of freedom to make choices so inherent to development our own identity. I consider what it must be like to live with oppression in each day; what it must be like to have your freedom restricted or your liberty taken from you. On this day I consider the many Tibetan refugees and all refugees who live displaced from their families and homelands due to the powerful who impose oppressive policies that restrict freedom. My wish is for all people to have happiness and with that comes the basic freedom to choose personal paths in life which I believe is all encompassing of the values in the Declaration of Human Rights.

On this day we celebrate our Independence but we do not forget all those who continue to strive for freedom.

July 5th- I am also reminded of the reasons behind the commitment to this project Pennies for Partnerships and how it is generated through the practice of compassion for others. In the fast paced prosperous society we live in it is common to overlook the needs of our brothers and sisters in distant places whom we have not met or encountered; yet it is important to maintain that compassionate quality which doesn’t forget those who may be faced with struggles unique to our own experiences.

All sentient beings deserve happiness….. this is the compassion message of the Tibetan spiritual leader the Dalai Lama.

Pennies for Partnerships was initiated in 2008 as a fund raiser to support the development of Tutors for Tibetans, a TCIA initiative, and Tibetan Women’s Association. I was privileged to travel abroad in 2008 with the first University of Arkansas TEXT:Tibetans in Exile Today project.  The initial introduction to the Tibetan community involved interviewing and recording the stories of the elder population, activists’ and religious leaders’ stories of strife due to the struggle for basic human rights.  Over the years your generosity and contributions to Pennies for Partnerships has supported educational programs, economic development programs, human rights publications, along with food and clothing assistance for both Tibetan and Indian families.

 

It is an exciting time as once again the TEXT students have returned from India and while traveling to Mundgod Dr. Sidney Burris, Ven Geshe Dorjee and the students had an opportunity to meet with the Tibetan Organic Farmers and the Settlement Representative to discuss Pennies for Partnerships’ collaboration with the University of Arkansas Horticulture Department and the Tibetan Organic Farmers. The development of possible programs with the U of A will take time but for now we will continue to support the Tibetan Organic Farmers with the purchase of their goods at fair market value and distribute them to the sponsored families.

on June 25th the farmers distributed to each sponsored family the monthly gifts of  a 15 kg bag of organic gram (lentils) made possible with your compassionate donations. We have July delivery scheduled for the end of the month and will soon be faced with the need of generating additional funds for the coming months to purchase the organic foods for the families in need.

Fund raising benefits and activities are in the planning phase for the future development of Greenhouse or High tunnel technology but at this time we are also asking for donations to cover the $15.00 monthly food supply per family. If you or anyone you know may be interested in making a donation for $15.00 or more it will feed a family of five for close to a month, and support organic farming practices at the same time.

Pennies for Partnerships-People Feeding People is a volunteer outreach and 100% of your donations go to support Tibetan and Indian families, in India, who grow the food, distribute the food, and receive the food.

Please know how much the food assistance is appreciated and please donate to the cause to help fight poverty and hunger while supporting ethical environmental practices. Your support is greatly needed.

Donations can be made through Paypal (button on left sidebar) or through Tibetan Cultural Institute of Arkansas (501c 3) website

http://www.artibet.com/activities/pennies-for-partnerships/

If you wish to mail a check Please remit payment to:

TCIA/ PfP

PO Box 269

Fayetteville, AR

72702-0269 US

Thank you again for all your generosity and compassion over the past years. I enjoy being your messenger of giving and hope to continue in the years to come, as long as the support is there and people feel to give to the project.

With gratitude,

Leann Halsey

Director – PFP

 

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