Date: February 27th 2005
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| February 27, 2005 | Contact: Paul Turner | Sri Lanka: (+94) 77 302-0495 | USA: (301) 987-5883 | Home | |||||||||||||
Colombo, February 24 -- Leaders from the Hindu community and various NGOs in Sri Lanka were invited to meet with Sri Lankan President Chandrika Bandaranaike Kumaratunga. Because of Food for Life Global's very active role in relief efforts here, we were also invited. Mr. Mahakarta das and his wife, Nandarani, accompanied me to the President's home. We were joined by more than 30 others and had to wait for over 4 hours before actually meeting the President. Mahakarta suggested we not ask for anything in our presentation. "Everyone is coming here to ask for something, he said. "We will simply inform her Excellency of our projects." His advice was very sound and so we put together key points to present during our allotted 5 minutes.
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Eleven more tsunami orphans arrive at Home
"The two boys seemed to have settled in very nicely here," said Nandarani. "However, the girls are taking some time." In this picture, Varsha is being carried by her older sister, Guna Seali (left). Both are getting the love and care they need at this difficult time. Days after this photo was taken, both girls were much happier, with Guna Seali being one of the most enthusiastic children during the art classes. |
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Sports Day at the Children's Home The children gathered in the play room to await the presentation and demonstration of some of new games. The table tennis set was a big hit and so too were the shiny red, green and blue bikes -- one large one for the older girls, two medium ones and two small ones, along with a three-wheeler. After the presentation, chaos of the nicer kind ensued as the children went wild with excitement, trying out all the new equipment. "It was so much fun!," said Colleen.
Paul Bissler, from Chicago, recently joined the FFL team and had this to say: "I could come back here everyday. These kids are so much fun." Paul will head up FFL's fund raising efforts, specifically focusing on acquiring grants for Gokulam and Food for Life Global. |
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(Indian Times) Mumbai, February 21 -- ISKCON temples in Mumbai, in partnership with The Times Group, have recently launched a service project. The leaflet that describes this project carries the beautiful face of a poor girl with this caption: “Sunita loves Science classes. Sunita loves History classes. Sunita loves Mathematics classes... But SHE HATES LUNCH HOURS.” Why? Because of hunger, the six-letter word that haunts nearly 60 million children in rural and urban India, robbing them of their childhood, depriving them of the joys of learning, and disempowering them in life. The ISKCON project has given hope to several thousand Sunitas in Mumbai’s government-run schools. On Makara Sankranti day, the ISKCON-Times Group inaugurated a mid-day meal programme that provides a tasty and nutritious meal to over 11,000 children in 37 schools in the city’s slums and suburbs. Each meal costs Rs 6, and one-half of the cost is subsidised by the government.
The
kitchen is a mechanised marvel: Meals for 24,000 children can be prepared
by five persons in two shifts per day. Looking at the
huge steel containers used for cooking rice mixed with dal or the conveyer
belt carrying khichdi-filled cans, I thought: machines may have enslaved
man elsewhere, but not here. Here, they are his partner in a divine cause. “The
food we serve may be mechanised, but it is also sanctified”, said
Radha Krishna Das, the project director. “We believe that feeding
a hungry child is the greatest service one can render to Krishna. I would
like to emphasise that our project feeds children of all castes and creeds”.
To read the entire
article. (India
Times Web Site) |
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Colombo, February 21 -- Food for Life Global volunteers decided to have an Art Day at Gokulam. They gathered the children and presented them with all sorts of art supplies: pastels, acrylics, water colors, hand-made and colored papers, scissors and glue. Their goal was to collect some art work to be used as part of Gokulam's new greeting card venture, Children Of The Tsunami – Arts, Gifts, and Education (COTTAGE), while also providing a creative outlet for the children. “I was impressed with their artistic skills and how receptive they were,” explained Sara Spears. “I hope it was as therapeutic for them as it was for us. I really think we all got something out of it. Our hope is that people will get this same experience through the COTTAGE line.”
Colleen Hardiman also enjoyed this latest visit to the Home. “Every time we go to the orphanage, I am so impressed with the love, respect, and care the children receive and also freely give,” she said. “The COTTAGE business will play an important role in creating sustainable funding for this incredible home and today was a really fun start. As a teacher, I know first hand the therapeutic and healing power of art for children, and today at Gokulam, you could clearly see this reflected in the children's remarkable creations.” JenRenee Paulson, who is leading the COTTAGE project commented: "The children had more art supplies than any of them had probably ever seen, and it was very touching to see them experiment and have so much fun. We will definitely not have a shortage of images to use for COTTAGE, as many of the children are quite talented. It was incredibly entertaining for the children, and us as well, as giggles ran amuck." If you are interested in helping Food for Life Global make this project successful, please email: JenRenee. We are looking for people with connections in the greeting card industry; sales reps with active contracts with major retailers, book publishers, printers, and marketing experts. NOTE:
The new COTTAGE web site will be launched on March 1st. www.cottageyouth.org |
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Childrens Home Needs Volunteers Gokulam - Bhaktivedanta Children's Home is offering volunteer opportunities, for two-week periods, to experienced professionals in the following fields:
Interested people need to fill out the Volunteer application form on the Food for Life Global web site. Applicants will be considered based on their experience and availability. Those chosen for the two-week assignments will be provided accommodation and food while volunteering. |
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Colombo, February 19 -- Jurek Owsiak arrived in Sri Lanka on Saturday with a film crew to document his experience. His first stop was the Gokulam - Bhaktivedanta Children's Home, where he joked with the children and praised the work of its founder, Nandarani. Mr. Jurek Owsiak, voted the most popular public figure in Poland (Yes, he beat out the Pope!), offered to supply the orphanage with medical equipment. Later in the week, he met with Health Minister, Nimal Siripala De Silva to discuss the donation of $200,000 USD worth of medical equipment to needy hospitals in Galle and Batticaloa.
Owsiak, founder of the Great Orchestra of Christmas Charity Foundation, raises millions of dollars a year for children’s causes, focusing mainly on medical equipment and preventative treatment. The foundation is the most prosperous charity organization in Poland and collected more than $50 million from 1993 to 2004, while spreading the ideology of kindness, friendship, tolerance and openness.
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Schools collect toys and cash for children in Sri Lanka
Virginia,
USA,
February 23 -- Like most of the community following the Tsunami
disaster in South Asia,
the
children
and parents of the Northern Virginia Youth Athletic Association (NVYAA)
were deeply moved by the tragedy and expressed a strong desire to do
something.
As parents,
they were
devastated to hear of the numerous children that were orphaned by the
disaster, and then further victimized when they are kidnapped and sold
as slaves or worse. "While we had many options for helping, we wanted
to focus on reaching out to the children," explained Maria Goebert,
who led the project. "It was our own children (ages 6-13) that asked
if they could send small toys, such as stuffed animals, dolls, action
figures or toy trucks to the surviving children." The NYYAA web site reported:
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NEW FFL World Hunger Map Food for Life Global recently published the FFL World Hunger Map. The map is printed on full color gloss photo paper and will make an excellent display in any temple, church, home, or office. The map depicts all the major regions of the world suffering from hunger and is superimposed with locations of FFL projects. Bordering the 36x24 inch map are pictures of FFL recipients, including shots from the recent tsunami relief program.
Our hope is to raise awareness of this major world issue. The more people are conscious of this problem, the better it will be for those suffering. Food for Life strongly believes that a vegetarian diet is a step in the right direction to reducing world hunger. The FFL World Hunger Map is available for $25 each. Proceeds will go towards supporting FFL projects around the world. Printing is limited, so order today! |
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ADVOCACY Package (Updated Package) Please help get the word out! Print these documents and distribute far and wide in your area.
Go back to TOP |
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APPEAL: Volunteer Coordinator Urgently Needed Food for Life Global continues to receive applications from volunteers wishing to assist FFL in its worldwide projects. We desperately need the expert help of an experienced Volunteer Coordinator. The ideal person needs to have the following qualifications:
If you or someone you know possess these traits, please write to us with references. How to Contact Food for Life Global in Sri Lanka The Food for Life base camp is situated at: email:
FFL Sri Lanka Office Gokulam
- Bhaktivedanta
Children's Home Volunteering Offshore Food for Life is encouraging people to give their time in their local area to help raise awareness of FFL's activities and thus raise much needed money. Many students have emailed to ask if they can organize a fundraising drive at their campus. The answer is a resounding "Yes." Please help in whatever way you can, whether it is selling t-shirts, approaching your local businesses, or writing an article. We just ask that you keep Food for Life Global informed of all your activities. Donations by Check Send to:
All donations are tax deductible. Food for Life Tax ID: 52-195-2901 Where You Can Donate JustGive and Network for Good, both of which are prominently displaying Food for Life on their hunger relief pages and of course at the FFL web site using PayPal. (Note: PayPal does extract a very small percentage of the donated money for transaction fees. Typically $3 for a $100 donation). Thank you for your friendship. On behalf of all the Food for Life volunteers, we hope this meets you in the best of health and happiness. Paul Turner The Food
for Life Global Friends Newsletter is distributed to more than 20,000 vegans
and vegetarians worldwide. |
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Paul
Rodney Turner |
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By
the time
Mrs. Kumaratunga arrived, there were already four television cameras
and numerous photographers ready to roll. Her Excellency sat down
and invited
people to speak. When it was our time, I reviewed my notes in dove
right in. I began, "Your Excellency. Thank you for this opportunity
to tell you about the work of Food for Life Global...Since the beginning
of the
tsunami
relief, Food for Life has served over 250,000 meals to the needy, provided
counseling services and sheltered many tsunami orphans in our highly
respected Gokulam - Children's Home in Colombo. Food for Life is the
world's largest vegetarian food relief with programs in more than
50 countries. One such program in Bangalore is addressing the needs
of 
Eleven
tsunami orphans from the north, arrived at Gokulam. The youngest of
the children, Varsha, is only 2 years old and four of the children
are from the same family.
Colombo,
February 16 -- A long awaited day for the children, finally
arrived. Our team went out shopping to get the children new
sporting equipment, including 6 new bikes, a cricket set, soccer ball,
volley ball and net, 8 badminton racquets and net, netball and ring,
various board games, and a fold up table tennis set. 
All
the volunteers split up to play games with the children. "One girl,
named Guna Seali, who had recently come from a tsunami-affected village
in the north, was
particularly touched by
the atmosphere," explained Sara. "She kept embracing us and saying
how much she loved us. It made me appreciate the Home even more. Already
her heart was beginning to heal from the pain of losing her parents. Ours,
on the other hand, just keeps melting every time we visit." 
During
the meeting he explained: “I
wanted to see the devastation for myself, so I decided to spend
a week traveling around the island. It’s more than I expected,"
he said. "My foundation will do all it can to help the children here.” 
Owsiak is
a highly respected humanitarian, and his decision to come to Sri Lanka,
and to make Gokulam his first stop, is very
significant because he commands great respect with
the people of Poland.
Data
from the map is based on the official World Food Programme hunger map
(
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