Namaste!

As you may know, on Oct 4^th Saturday, we were able to organize a visit for our Bhutanese friends to the Radhey Sham temple for dashain puja. The responses received from the Bhutanese were very overwhelming and they were very touched with the communities’ welcome, especially in our offer to help them with essentials to settle in this country.

Though they are here as Bhutanese refugees, I would address them as our nepali fellowmen, as they speak Nepali, wear nepali and behave nepali, and they are more nepali than most of us here. Similar to us being immigrants to the US, they were immigrants in Bhutan but still retain the nepali heritage.

Below please find some excerpts from some of those who would benefit from our assistance. Some of their requests are for basic necessities, especially given the coming winter. Remember these are people who need our assistance to get started in this country and would be extremely grateful for any assistance we can provide.

Dillu Regmi wrote on 10/7/2008 -

“Thank you so much for being there to help and support us. Dai I would like to tell you something- as we know that there will be extreme cold here in Chicago we(Bhutanese) do not have warm cloths for the winter. We are not aware of the cold but everyone told that it will be extreme cold here; so Dai representing all the Bhutanese I would like to ask for the help for winter.
Thank you so much again for the last Saturday's grand puja ceremony and making us feel pride that there are people in our community who are with us.”

Hom Dahal wrote on 10/8/2008 -

“I m Hom Dahal . I recently came to usa in Chicago .last time also I came there at the temple.you have told that u r going to help us when we r in problem.I m in need of ur small help and hope u will not say no.the thing is that I have to enroll my small brother in the school in grade 8 and all the facilities r give from the school but we have to manage the uniform by ourself....black paint and white shirt  which we cannot manage right now .if the help is possible plz do reply me..”

We have started getting requests for assistance and it will keep coming.  Any aid to these people in need wouldn’t be possible without your help and support. So, in essence, I request all of you to come together and walk with us in this noble cause. 

For those of us who have been through a Chicago winter, we know that the cold is coming with a vengeance! To help our fellowmen to survive this winter, I request all of you to check with your friends, family, neighbor or any other interested parties to collect winter clothing (Jacket, sweater, gloves, etc).  Our plan is to collect these items and distribute by the mid to end of this month.  Some of us could even donate winter items purchased from stores like the Salvation Army, Goodwill etc.

Please spread the word around to anyone who might be interested in helping this cause.

Lastly, I would like to end with this quote from Bhagavad-Gita.

“Karmanye Vadhika Raste Maa Faleshu Kadachana 
Ma Karma Fal Heturbhuh, 
Ma Te Sangotsva Karmani”

Translated in English it means, 
“You have a right to "Karma" (actions) but never to any fruits thereof. 
You should never be motivated by the results of your actions, 
Nor should there be any attachment in not doing your prescribed activities.”

In short, unselfishly giving without expecting a reward is your dharma and any good karma will follow if you perform your dharma.

Alternately, you can also contact any one of the following volunteers. 
Ankur Sharma: sharmankur@yahoo.com 
Rummy Pant: rummypant@yahoo.com 
Bishnu Phuyal: bishnuphuyal@hotmail.com 
Yagna Pant:ypant@yahoo.com 
Sangita Subedi: sangitabogati@yahoo.com