Feb/Mar 2008 India Trip: Trip was a Success! Thanks for your contributions!
I'm off to India again to the small village of Khajuraho and this time I'm bringing 100 lbs of clothing and educational material for children. If you have any toys and/or books that help children learn english or math, and if you have childrens and mens clothing up to size medium and waist 32 I will come get them from you. THANKS!! I leave Feb 25th. return March 10th.
Nov/Dec 07 trip: Mission Accomplished! Thanks to all!
(Total $750 in cash donated to Amar Jyoti, Missionaries of Charity, and Maa Saraswati Vidya mandir Primary School in Khajuraho)
Charity Fundraising total so far: $823.00
(See a list of donors at the bottom of this page. Total includes $145.00 spent on 40 coloring books and 40 boxes of crayons)
Here’s a quick note to let you know I’m going off to India and Nepal for a couple of weeks of cultural enlightenment and hopefully some really good CURRY DISHES!!! I depart on November 19th and return Dec. 4th.
My trip includes visits to Delhi, Agra (Taj Mahal), Jaipur, Jhansi, Khajuraho, Varanasi, and Kathmandu in Nepal.
As many of you are probably aware India, a country of more than 1.1 billion people, has a terrible poverty problem and as you can imagine a drastically under-funded network of charities. For this reason I have chosen two children’s charities in Delhi to whom I will bring gifts of coloring books, crayons, and cash. I have already purchased the first two items and a large duffel bag to carry them in. For the cash donation I am hoping that I can get 100 people to donate $5 or $10 each. I will split the money equally between the two charites.
(Sesame Street coloring books, crayons, and my dog Andy inspecting the merchandise.)
The first charity is Amar Jyoti (http://www.amarjyotirehab.org/), a chariable trust which funds programs for children and adolescents who are disabled. From their website:
“In 1982, Amar Jyoti started a school with a pioneering concept of educating children with and without disability in equal number from nursery to class VIII. Having started with an integrated group of 30 children under a tree, the school today has over 600 children.
The mentally challenged and profound deaf have special sections and are socially integrated. The orthoepaedically handicapped and visually impaired are integrated with the non disabled in regular classes. Mild and moderate cases are trained and included as per special educators
advice. All the teachers are trained in special education. The parents are also involved for
various programmes.”
The second charity is “Missionaries of Charity Orphanage”. They have no website but they are the Delhi branch of the Calcutta (now ‘Kolkata’) charity made famous by their most famous member Mother Teresa:
Missionaries of Charity,
Jeevan Jyothi
Mathura Road
Jangpura 'B'
New Delhi 110 014.
MANY THANKS TO THE FOLLOWING DONORS:
Jeff & Deanna Defreitas, Pam Maclean, Kat Occipinti, Bret & Patricia Lobner, Susan Pettit, Michelle Kipnis, Paul Stachelek & Christa Malone, Cathie Whitley, Bob & Josie Demers, Dick and Laura Roberts, Jenny Sebastian, Frank & Katharina Lester, Marcelo Ruiz, Gillian Parrish, Gisela Koestner, Mike & Kelly Mosunic, Eva Parsons & Jim Pearson, Charles & Jackie Scott, Wallace & Kay Bell, John Skoglund & Susan Duthie, Esther Nomland, Michen Denney, Tom Sullivan, Kevin Hollingshead, Brent Butler, Judy Johnson, Jose' Gomez, Betty Dean, Marge & Joe Rubenson, Sharon Oeser, Dorothy Daniels, Jay Chansky, Deborah Willenbourg, Ian & Ann Ellis, Brian Devereux, Phyliss Kuo, Sandra Angel, Susan Pettit