By Paul Boerger
The spirit of giving was alive and well in Mount Shasta the evening of December 5th as citizens opened their hearts and wallets to support Lama Tenzin’s efforts to provide care for orphaned children in India.
Tenzin and two other Buddhist monks founded an orphanage in northern India in 2000 under the auspices of the Children’s Education Development Society International.
With local merchants and citizens donating goods and services, 70 people bid large amounts of money in raising $6,000 for the orphanage.
Tenzin had brought crayon drawings the children had created and bids ran as high as $50 for orphan’s artwork.
Tenzin spoke of the hardships the children of the Himalayas live under with children as young as four years old tending sheep from sunup to sundown for food only.
“If a count at the end of the day reveals a missing animal, the meal is withheld,” Tenzin said.
Tenzin said that some of the children come from isolated villages above the 21,000 foot level. The children have had little contact with the world; they do not know what money is, have never seen pencil and paper, and do not know how to use a toothbrush.
The children have been so isolated that they speak an ancient Tibetan language, and Tenzin said he has to use an interpreter to give them simple instructions.
For more information or to donate, visit the CED website at www.himalayankids.org.
Merchants donating to the raffle included Mountain Song, The Portal Gallery, Wonderland Landscaping, The Gallery, Sengthong’s, Noah’s Ark, Mount Shasta Board and Ski Park, Mount Shasta Resort, Jon Thomas Fine Jewelry, Berryvale, Salt H2O, Silvermoon Galleria and Shasta Vortex Adventures.
