BELLY ENDEAVORS Blog

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Manjushree Vidyapith Orphanage,  Tawang, India

I met Cathy and Sheila Gains while performing at Aladdin’s Restaurant, belly dancing

with my dance partner Sheikha in 2005.  They both have adorable children they adopted from China.  Cathy told me about a sweet young girl she was sponsoring that lived in the Himalayan’s just outside Tawang, India at Manjushree Vidyapith Orphanage and her plans to adopt this girl.  I asked about the sponsorship and decided I too would like to sponsor a child- although, sadly enough, I would not be able to adopt.

I emailed Lama Thupten Phuntsok, the director at Manjushree Vidyapith Orphanage.  He emailed me a list of children of all ages with their story of how they arrived at Manjushree.  I won’t bother to drag out this story or go into detail about the sad situations of these orphans.  The young girl I chose is named Pempa.  Lama followed up by mailing photographs of Pempa to me.  I began to write Pempa and she responded with nice letters, recent photographs, handmade cards with her drawings and well wishes.  She’s now 15, writes English well, excels in Soccer (which they call football), and dance. 

For good reasons, most of us are very skeptical and hesitant about sponsoring children in other countries.  We question, “what if the child doesn’t exist”.  They probably send the same photo to hundreds of sponsors.  What if this is a scam and there are no children at an orphanage? 

Well, this is the real deal. 

Two days ago, I met with Cathy, daughter YaYa, and her newest addition to her home a couple of days ago (see me & Tsering in photo).  Cathys daughter is named “Tsering” and she’s the young girl Cathy has been sponsoring at Manjushree Vidyapith Orphanage since Tsering was age 5.  Tsering is now 14, speaks English well, and she’s beautiful , polite, and smart.  

Okay, here’s my exciting news….Can you believe my daughter that I sponsor, Pempa is Tserings best friend?  Wow, what a small world!  Tsering emailed Pempa my email address and now we are able to talk online via email rather than the snail mail from US to the Himalayan Mountains which saves us about 1 month of time.  I’m so excited.

These photo’s below of Cathy and Pempa, Pempa and Tsering, and Pempa were recently taken at Manjushree during Cathy’s 3 week visit in India. 

Here’s some information I pulled off of another website about Manjushree Vidyapith Orphanage:

“The remote district of Tawang is situated at 10-12,000 feet in an area of outstanding natural beauty but relative impoverishment. Access requires 2 days of tiring journey along winding mountain roads made treacherous by mudslides and avalanches. There is no access by rail or air. The Tawang region was part of Tibet for over 300 years and was only integrated into India in the 1940’s. The town of Tawang lies some 20 miles from the current border with Tibet and only 30 miles from Bhutan’s eastern border.

The Manjushree Vidyapith School and Orphanage is just outside the town of Tawang. The orphanage was founded in 1998 by a dynamic and caring young

Buddhist monk, who was born in one of the mountain villages near Tawang.

The harsh climate, difficult terrain and minimal healthcare in this remote and isolated region mean that many adults and children die from disease as well as natural disasters and accidents. Many children are left with either no parents at all or are effectively destitute. Some are also severely physically handicapped.

Manjushree Vidyapith School and Orphanage (MVSO) was established to rescue children

whose prospects would otherwise have been very poor indeed. The vision of Manjushree Vidyapith is:

a)    To provide a home and close-knit loving family for orphans, physically disabled or destitute children of the Tawang district.

b)    To provide a modern education and sound moral values.

c)    To inspire the young people to act with a good heart, to become leaders in their communities, and to help bring peace to the world.”

http://www.westernchanfellowship.org/friends-manjushree-vidyapith-sch.html

If you would like to sponsor a child at Manjushree Vidyapith Orphanage, please contact Lama Thupten Phuntsok at mvtawang@yahoo.co.in.  Sponsorship is about $30 each month. 

You may also donate to the “First Parish Church of Berlin”, indicating that the money go to the orphanage. This means that the gift is tax deductible, since it is a contribution to a charitable organization. The church will send you a receipt each year before April 15 as long as the amount is $250 or more. The church transfers the money collected to Manjushree  three to four times per year.  Checks need to be made out to “First Parish Church of Berlin” with “Manjushree sponsor” in the memo, and should be sent to “First Parish Church of Berlin, Att. Beezy Bentzen, 24 Central Street, Berlin, MA 01503″.

Please click on this link to watch a video on Manjushree Orphanage.  I welcome your comments!  Love Susan

Manjushree Orphanage

The Dali Lama visits Tawang, India

Dali Lama visits Tawang, India

Spring has finally arrived.  I have enjoyed a beautiful day today with the highs in the 60′s.  If you are not from Colorado, I’m sure you don’t understand how nice the weather can be when the sun is out and the humidity is low. 

I have started my workout regimine.  I have vowed to myself to workout at the gym at least 4 days of the week.  I will also post my meals on my blog to show how healthy I am eating.   Please comments and add suggestions!

You might ask, why the eyeball picture?  Well, because it looks funny.

I’d like to buy a used mannequin!

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