BGR NEWS + TEACHINGS
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.
Turning Back the Tide of Violence: A Vesak Message for 2021
If enough of us commit ourselves to a life of non-violence, to love and compassionate action, we might just succeed in setting in motion a counter-current to the tide of destructive violence that engulfs us and brings so much grief. We might transform old enmities into a celebration of our essential unity, join hands across boundaries, and take a few small steps toward the state of global peace for which we yearn.
BGR Offers Emergency Assistance During the Pandemic
In May 2021, BGR donated over $60,000 from our emergency funds to support communities, both globally and in the U.S., adversely impacted by the Covid pandemic. Most of our assistance has gone to organizations working in India, which has been hit especially hard by the pandemic
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.
Feeding Children in Need in Port-au-Prince, Haiti
A grant from Buddhist Global Relief to the What If Foundation supports the Lamanjay Food Program in the Ti Plas Kazo community of Port-au-Prince, Haiti. The program serves up to 800 free meals each day at the Lamanjay community cafeteria and also provides lunches for 350 to 400 students and staff of the Father Jeri School in Port-au-Prince.
Supporting Sustainable Livelihoods for Women Farmers in Kenya
A project titled Enhancing Capacities of Rural Women in Kenya provided training to 840 women farmers and kitchen gardeners, many of whom reported that their children had been hungry before and now have sufficient food.
From the Archives: Moral Vision as the Foundation for Global Well-Being
An essay from Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi, originally published in September 2017.
