Sukhasiddhi Foundation

Sanitation for the children of Bodhgaya

We are a Buddhist sangha (community) in San Rafael California founded by Lama Palden Drolma, a woman teacher in the Tibetan Buddhist tradition…

Our project is to bring eco-sanitation and clean water to the people who live in the area around Bodhgaya, India, the place where the Buddha attained awakening. Many people from countries all over the world have come to Bodhgaya and have received inspiration and nourishment. Helping the local people is a way we can give back for the blessing of this sacred place.

Our first project is to help a school with over 225 children. In 2007 while Lama Palden and one of our students where visiting Bodhgaya for a special Buddhist ceremony they met and befriended a man that helps manage the Deiki Dolma school. When Lama Palden returned to Bodhgaya in 2009, she visited the school and launched our service project to help support the school and villages near Bodhgaya obtain clean sanitation.

So far we have raised funds to supply books for the children and to build a school composting toilet facility with running water. Wherever the Need is doing a great job training the school manager and assessing what needs to be done.

With the school project underway, our next goal is to raise an additional $5400 by summer 2010 to provide education and community organizing to the village the school is within. The funds will provide community organizers to help form Women’s self help groups, to educate the villagers about clean water and sanitation, and to provide a health and sanitation educator at the school. The best way to ensure health for the children is to have eco-sanitation and clean water both at their school and in their village.

This project not only produces great health benefits, it also greatly increases the self-esteem and self-confidence of women and girls by giving them access to clean and safe sanitation facilities.

Your donation: Will enable us to complete the education and eco-sanitation project for the first village and begin focusing on the next village near Bodhgaya.

Thank you!

www.sukhasiddhi.org

August update

The first stage of this project is complete – you can see photos of the completed school unit on the right. We are now starting stage two of the project. Watch the project page for further updates.

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