How the Children’s Himalayan Foundation was born

  Dear Friends,

 “I had spent the last seven years on a conscious spiritual journey, traveling between India, Nepal and the West, when, in an unexpected way, my journey brought me back to the gently pulsing heart.

 It has been two Nepalese children, Jaya and Bijay who have done much to connect me with my own heart. About three years ago, I met them through a friend when traveling in Nepal. It is difficult to communicate in words my connection to these children. The only way I could understand my feelings was in the context of soul connection and the knowing that there is only the one heart of love.

 At that time, Jaya and Bijay’s father had abandoned them, five years previously, when Bijay was three days old. Their mother had brain damage at birth and in the West would be considered educationally subnormal. Somehow, she managed to take care of them as best she could but when I met them they were underweight and undernourished. They lived out in the country, far away from any services, and they would wander the countryside alone, often covering six or seven miles at a time…just wandering …with really no one who cared.

 By some grace for my own healing, I was fortunate to meet them, and before long, brought them to my apartment in Kathmandu. At first I believed it was me helping them, but I was to discover that these two little brothers were to become my greatest spiritual teachers.

 Over a period of five months I uncovered much about myself. But the greatest gift of all was my connection to my heart. Until then, I was unable to feel my own heart pulsing within my breast…it was as if my heart was paralyzed. As I connected with these children and the other children of Nepal, I began to feel my own heart’s pulse. It was as if my heart was pulsing with their heart and we had one big heart; a big child’s heart.

And so it was within this context that the idea for the Children’s Himalayan Foundation was rooted.

 Being Irish, we have a very close knit family and have supported each other as best we could in each of our life’s endeavors. Before long, CHF had become a family affair. The family rallied round to support me, some going as far as Nepal to meet the children and experience what I was talking about.

 Now, a year later, with a Tibetan chime, a Nepalese drum and the blessings of an Irish family, we are launching our Foundation.

 Our first project is to set up an Orphanage in Kathmandu, Nepal, because at some level I feel the orphan’s heart reflects the lost part of my own heart.

Our goal is to reach $50,000 by 17 th April 2006, the day Jaya is nine years old.

We are extending our invitation to you to become part of our Himalayan-Irish Family as we support the orphan children. The plight of the poverty many children in Nepal endure is sometimes overwhelming in the pain and confusion it reflects. However, like the Irish people, it is the strength of their spirit essence that resonates across the miles, making it difficult not to respond. And our Irish family will never forget how we were able to reach out to the West during our years of need, of poverty and lack, which were not too long ago at all.

 We look forward to connecting with you, our new family. All money received, no matter how little, will be a brick towards building the Orphanage.

 $50,000 dollars is the amount the Nepalese Government requests on an annual basis from any Foundation working in Nepal, to ensure enough funds to cover the projects set up by that Foundation.

 We would like to share with you pictures of the children of Nepal to convey to you the essence of the children’s heart. ”

 Love  Vona,

 And the directors of CHF Mark, Tom, Maura, Mike, Krishna & the Kids.