For those of you who were the donors of the cow(s) and did not have the opportunity to meet up with me to have a look at the big birthday picture book that we have presented to HHDL for his birthday, here is a chance to view it. Though you may not be able to touch the luxurious velvet cover and feel the gold stamping on the front cover of this A3 size album you can still see the birthday message that we have written in English and Tibetan for His Holiness on all your behalf. Of course, not to forget your names in the album for sending this excellent birthday gift!

 

Some photos to show you what Kunphen is doing for the Tibetans who have gone astray. Their effort to help the society....Therefore, we seek your help!

 

 

OUR IMPORTANT SERIES OF EVENT FROM JUNE 30th TO JULY 5th 2013
It was a truly a very joyous and auspicious week for VE. In order to thank all the donors for our cow liberation project, we concluded the series of ceremonies by way of a Namgylama Longlife Puja done in Gaden Shartse Monastery in Dharamsala in the morning of June 30th. This puja was specially dedicated to our guru HHDL and all our donors and helpers in this project. The puja, presided by Kangyur Rinpoche started as early as 7am and concluded by 12.30pm. Vegetarian lunch cooked by two excellent chefs from VTC (the director himself and his student who works in Chonor House) was offered to the 17 lamas after the puja. It was a joyful occasion for all.
On the morning of July 1st, our VE member Rita was interviewed by Voice of Tibet regarding the cow liberation project. The interview was broadcasted in the same evening. It was heard by lots of Tibetans in Dharamsala and that was why in subsequent days when Rita was being introduced to various people, they all said: "We know who you are because we heard you on the radio" She was really caught by surprise with such sudden "fame". We did not know when it was being broadcasted and neither did we anticipate such a great number of audience!
Then on July 2nd noon, the highlight of our VE cow project came. The VE members and representatives of donors were given an audience by HHDL. During the audience, VE presented an album with a birthday message written in both Tibetan and English
representing all the donors to His Holiness and a compilation of photos from all the 8 liberations that we have done. We also presented to His Holiness with a 1'30'' video about the cow liberation which was to be broadcasted by Tibetonline TV. 

A big thank you from us for the video footage that was graciously done by our fellow dharma brother Wilson Lin on a pro bono basis. He even rushed the whole editing for us within 5 days to be in time for our travel to India. You can have a glimpse of the video attached here.(A higher resolution version was given to the TV station). It was being telecasted during their TV News on July 5th evening, the eve of His Holiness' birthday.  

Varada Effort has been silent but have kept the momentum going since July after we have completed our cow liberation project. In fact much effort has been done to help raise students' standard and attitude towards working life etc. in the schools in Tibetan Children Village and Dharamsala.

We have decided to bring the director from VTC to come over to Singapore to have a first hand experience on our education system and work standard expected in the service industry.

In order to fund his trip here, we have decided to host a series of teas and lunches over the weekends when he is here, not only to raise fund but also introduce a little Tibetan culture to we Singaporeans here. Please see the following information:- 

 We are grateful that Ms. Wee Nee Ng has generously donated $200/- to give a head start for this project. So far, 2nd Nov and 10th Nov has already been booked by groups. The other days available would be 3rd Nov and 10th Nov. Please hurry to make your booking if you do not want to miss this opportunity of having a taste and an explanation of knowing when and how you consume Tibetan food!

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Local donations for Kunphen

Some of the people who have read about kunphen have started to give donations for the building fund. So far, we encourage those who are sending in big amount (over S$1,000/-) to do a direct transfer to the Kunphen account in India. However for the amount lesser than that, we will collect them and will pass to our India based member later to present it to Kunphen. Hope this will cut out the wastage in paying for commission for every amount received and the administrative work involved in doing the transfer. Hope supporters of Varada Effort can understand our point of view.. So we will list out each amount received  and donors' names as before and will inform you when the transfer is done. Individual receipts can be issued by Kunphen upon the transfer of money.

This is the list that will be updated after each new receipt of cash as from 19Jul 2013:-

Richard Lee                     $80/-
Lim Shuyin                      $500/-
Please note that there are Singapore donors who donated directly to Kunphen or Dawa Tsering la when we were in Dharamsala. These amounts are not reflected here.

At long last, the much awaited photos of the liberation on June 12, 2013 is here! You will notice that some of the photos did hot have the setting of the liberation site but a village, this is due to the fact that some of the cows that were late in arrival did not mange to have their photos taken with the owner. Therefore our friend Shuyin over in Sri Lanka together with Ven Ananda went up to Anuradhapura again to track down all these families. They are all situated in way out places with no roads (sometimes leading to the house) but she did managed to get a shot of each cow in the end so that every donor's wish will be fulfilled. Hope you enjoy this download of 500+ photos in the following 3 links:-
1)https://picasaweb.google.com/106212844916359523959/Jul82013?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCOquuePt6ebBdg&feat=directlink
2)https://picasaweb.google.com/106212844916359523959/2013061603?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCL3dvKbv29yZLA&feat=directlink
3)https://picasaweb.google.com/106212844916359523959/20130617?authuser=0&authkey=Gv1sRgCLGRkNi_6Pfr3wE&feat=directlink
Some of the photos were contributed by Brother Kim Guan. Many thanks for his wonderful photography. 

 Helping Kunphen

Some of our VE members were in Dharamsala recently to present the photo album from the cow liberation to HHDL and we met one of the committee members of Kunphen., Mr. Dawa Tsering. 

 

Dawa la is also a member of the parliament and known for his social services to the people there.

Since last year a new batch of top leaders in various organisations from New Delhi and Dharamsala came on board and decided to revitalize Kunphen after years of neglect in its development.

 

Now they are working on the fund raising to build a rehabilitation center near Norbulingka. The piece of land was already donated by the office of HHDL. When completed this will better serve the Tibetan community and also train the addicts in some kind of skill so that they can in the end be productive to the society when they kicked the habit. 

 

This is a little information about Kunphen written in both English and Chinese. Those who would like to contribute to the building fund can write to us for more details.   

About Kunphen:- 

Kunphen, which has a literal meaning of "universal benevolence", is an open door policy drop-in centre providing support, advice, advocacy, group and alternative healing therapies to Tibetans suffering from addiction issues. In addition, Kunphen liaises with other professional services to provide multi-treatment and recovery referral options, and organises education and community awareness campaigns to highlight the effects of substance dependence and the pscho-socal problems it creates for their loves ones and the community. Other than being the first and only non-government organisation (NGO) providing such treatment and care for the individuals suffering from substance dependence, it is also the first organisation to address the HIV/AIDS issues in the Tibetan community in exile.

Established in 2002, though under tight financial constraints, Kunphen has benefited at least 150 clients over the past 10 years. Currently, Kunphen operates out of a small office providing the following services to the clients:

1) one-to-one counselling sessions

2) group and one-to-one motivational and counselling workshops

3) drop-in service to assess support needs and requirements

4) acupunture and yoga sessions

5) awareness programs and workshops

6) research on past and present drug use trends

Kunphen is a project supported by H.H. 14th Dalai Lama as evidenced by the donation of a sum of Rs2,500,000 from Office of HHDL to purchase a plot of land  near Norbulingka for the consturction of a rehablitation centre in order to reach out to more potential clients and to provide a more conducive environment for the clients. Kunphen is currently raising fund for the construction of this rehabilitation centre. The cost of construction is estimated at USD55,000 with a budgeted annual recurring operating cost of USD9,000. The construction is scheduled to start in July 2013 and will be completed in 2014.

We seek your generous donation to help Kunphen reach out to those who have temporarily lost their way and to shed some rays of hope in their lives by giving them another chance in leading a meaningful human life.

昆遍在藏文的意思是利益一切. 在这儿,利益的对象是染上毒瘾的藏族同胞.她的宗旨在于帮助嗜毒者脱离毒瘾,让他们再次能拥有一个有意义的人生.

昆遍是达兰萨拉的第一也是唯一的一间戒毒中心.她于2002年成立.在过去的十年,虽然经济有限,在创办人与工作人员不懈努力之下,已帮助了超过150位嗜毒者.现在的昆遍只有一位曾是嗜毒者的辅导官在一间小小的办公室为嗜毒者开导与治疗,以及主办一些活动提升社会对于嗜毒的害处.为了让昆遍能够利益更多嗜毒者并让他们有一个更理想的环境让他们戒掉毒瘾,现在的负责人,达瓦策林,正筹备建设一间戒毒所.达赖喇嘛尊者也非常支持昆遍的宗旨,也因如此,尊者的办公室已捐了2,500,000 如币让昆遍在罗布林卡的附近买了一片地建设戒毒所.这间戒毒所的建筑预算是美元55,000, 每年的开销预算是美元9,000. 建筑工程将在2013年七月开始并预计能够在2014年完成.

这是一项非常有意义的幕款活动,希望您能够慷慨解囊,让一群迷路的羔羊能够再次回到正道, 使他们的生命再次发光.