HELPING HANDS NEWSLETTER
Nourishing and Educating Girls in Lima, Peru
For more than 30 years, the Asociación Grupo de Trabajo Redes (AGTR) has helped children in Peru empower themselves and escape child labor. A grant from BGR supports AGTR as it works to develop educational opportunities for girls in one of the poorest districts of Lima.
Take Buddhist Action to Feed the Hungry
Each year for the last decade, supporters of Buddhist Global Relief have come together for our Walks to Feed the Hungry. As we walked together in the Dharma, we raised funds to support BGR’s work to relieve the suffering of chronic hunger and poverty worldwide. In 2020, in response to the COVID pandemic, Buddhist Global Relief launched our inaugural Buddhist Action to Feed the Hungry series of online events.
BGR Provides Emergency Grants in Sri Lanka, Haiti, and Myanmar
In August and September, Buddhist Global Relief made several emergency donations to support critical aid for people affected by the Covid pandemic in Sri Lanka, the earthquake in Haiti, and the ongoing crisis in Myanmar.
BGR Awards Grants to 51 Projects Worldwide
In late April, BGR's Board approved 51 projects with potential partners around the world. These grants for BGR's fiscal year 2021–22 amounted to $969,000. The Board provided $60,000 in additional emergency assistance to regions afflicted with the Covid pandemic, most in India, pushing BGR’s grant total to over $1,000,000.
Emergency COVID Assistance to India and Sri Lanka
BGR recently donated funds for two ventilators to the Mahabodhi Maitri Mandala hospital in Bengaluru, India. Additionally, BGR provided $16,000 in other kinds of financial assistance to organizations in India and Sri Lanka delivering aid to people afflicted by the virus.
BGR’s First Online Retreat
On Memorial Day weekend Buddhist Global Relief held its first ever online retreat, conducted to support BGR’s poverty relief and education work around the world. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi guided the retreat along with new BGR Board members Ayyā Dhammadīpā of Āloka Vihāra in Placerville, California, and Rev. Jin-Chuan Shi of Berkeley Buddhist Monastery. The retreat was well attended, with 160–180 people from around the world joining live on Zoom and others catching up with the recordings of the sessions on the BGR YouTube Channel.
Leave a Legacy With BGR
Please consider designating BGR as a beneficiary for a portion of a fund, trust, or life insurance policy. Legacies through future gifts will benefit the needy long into the future. We expect BGR to continue to thrive, and the gift you give by naming us as a beneficiary will directly benefit hungry people, give poor girls the chance to attend school, and enable women to start right livelihood projects to support their families.
Burmese Buddhism Under Siege
On February 1, 2021, Myanmar’s forward momentum towards becoming an open and free democracy was brought to a crashing halt. Under the false pretext of fraudulent elections, the military arrested political leaders such as Aung San Suu Kyi, and took over the government. In a flash, the country was returned to the dark and repressive days of military juntas past.
Why Is There Hunger in the Midst of Plenty?
In an interview on Democracy Now!, Ricardo Salvador, director of the Food and Environment Program at the Union of Concerned Scientists, raises the question: Why, when the planet is producing more than enough food to feed everyone, do millions still face chronic hunger and starvation?
Urgent Aid to Women and Children in Cambodian Prisons
A BGR project with LICADHO (the Cambodian League for the Promotion and Defense of Human Rights) provides critical aid to incarcerated pregnant women and new mothers and their children.
HOW YOU CAN HELP
During the coronavirus crisis, Buddhist Global Relief is continuing to fund projects providing food, education, and other necessary support to the world’s most vulnerable people. Many of the communities we serve worldwide are experiencing immense need as this epidemic spreads among vulnerable and medically underserved populations. If you have the ability to help, please consider donating to BGR. You can contribute by PayPal or credit card here or by check mailed to: Buddhist Global Relief, 2020 Route 301, Carmel, NY 10512, USA.
