07-01-2009, 09:51 PM
Post from HC yahoo group:
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Namasthe,
This Forum is supposed to help our fellow Hindus. In this Forum, we
passionately discuss how to help other Hindus and protect Hinduism.
Well Here is a REAL and PRESSING Opportunity right in our backyard:
Sewa international is involved in helping Bhuthanese Hindu refugees who
have just come to the US. There is an URGENT need to help these people!
They are on food stamps and in subsidized housing which will expire
soon. In New Hampshire alone, 5 HINDU families have been CONVERTED TO
CHRISTIANITY due to lack of help from the Hindu community. They are all
under pressure to convert to Christianity because the MISSIONARIES ARE
HELPING THEM NOW. To get their Food Stamps the Bhuthanese need to go to
an office in a CHURCH. A group of individuals from Boston area is
working in association with the SEWA International Co-ordinator Sri
Raghavan Narayan to put together a few items for a care package. The
Items are:
1.) A murthy or vigraha of a Hindu God to do daily puja as requested by
refugees
2.) A nanadaa deepa or lamp
3.) A Grocery gift Card (most important) They can only do this through
donations. So far they have collected $2260 but they need to collect a
total of $5000 for 75 families. Please Please HELP THIS
EXCELLENT HINDU CAUSE by contacting the SEWA coordinator Raghav Narayan
at
raghav.k.narayan@...
<http://us.mc552.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=raghav.k.narayan@gmail.com\
> and the volunteer lead P.S.Prakruthi at vyuha5@...
<http://us.mc552.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=vyuha5@gmail.com>
Please visit
http://www.sewausa.org/ <http://www.sewausa.org/>
http://www.sewausa.org/bhutanese-refugee...nt-project
<http://www.sewausa.org/bhutanese-refugee-empowerment-project> Article
in Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/...their_hin\
du_brethren/
<http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/03/29/embracing_their_hi\
ndu_brethren/>
An eyewitness account: Please read below: Bhutanese Refugees at Concord,
NH:
These folks are in need of help. They have been overlooked by community
service groups so far, perhaps due to their far-north location. There
are about 40 families in Concord, approximately 20 of them live in one
apartment complex (the one we visited), and the rest are a few block
away. They get their support from Govt. through Lutheran Social Services
Agency (the agency name may not be exactly that, but something to do
with Lutheran...). The Govt. help lasts for 8 months only. Some of
them have already exceeded that limit and thus are somehow surviving
with other refugees' support. The families with dependents/minors
(under 18) have been able to get temporary 3-month extensions but no
such extensions are available to those (including women who are over 18.
Many of them speak little or no English. Being able to speak/understand
Nepali was a big help to me. Immediate Needs: Jobs (e.g., cleaning,
housekeeping, priest, ...), bus pass or petty cash to pay for bus fare
(to go to library, language classes, etc.), personal computers, English
tutoring, computer skills, self-help skills (e.g., how to take advantage
of unemployment agencies for job search and resume prep, etc.),
how/where to conduct final rites / Hindu funerals, etc.
Long-Term Needs: Winter clothing, easy access to places of worship /
temples, .... Chinmaya can help by sending a few people on a periodic
(weekly/biweekly/?) basis. Can bring some simple snack/beverages along,
be with them for a couple hours and help them with tutoring, guidance,
etc. Other ideas include old/used computer donation drive, winter
clothing drive, fund raise to purchase bus passes, etc. Example#1: One
gentleman with bachelors degree ("Shastry" degree) in Sanskrit, who used
to be a priest back home (and would love to work as a priest or a
priest's helper here in US), is diabetic, neither he nor his wife has a
job, and have a toddler child to support. They lost their health and
other benefits recently (past 8 months), but received temporary
extension because of the child.
Example#2: A young lady whose parents are yet to arrive (she has not
been given specific dates) who lost her benefits last month, has no job,
has not received an extension because she is 18+ and has no dependents,
been living in an apartment without electricity/utilities (got
disconnected), surviving with other refugees help. The Lutheran agency
has asked her to wait until they get another refugee family to arrive so
she can live with them, but no dates have been given.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->
<!--QuoteBegin-->QUOTE<!--QuoteEBegin-->Namasthe,
This Forum is supposed to help our fellow Hindus. In this Forum, we
passionately discuss how to help other Hindus and protect Hinduism.
Well Here is a REAL and PRESSING Opportunity right in our backyard:
Sewa international is involved in helping Bhuthanese Hindu refugees who
have just come to the US. There is an URGENT need to help these people!
They are on food stamps and in subsidized housing which will expire
soon. In New Hampshire alone, 5 HINDU families have been CONVERTED TO
CHRISTIANITY due to lack of help from the Hindu community. They are all
under pressure to convert to Christianity because the MISSIONARIES ARE
HELPING THEM NOW. To get their Food Stamps the Bhuthanese need to go to
an office in a CHURCH. A group of individuals from Boston area is
working in association with the SEWA International Co-ordinator Sri
Raghavan Narayan to put together a few items for a care package. The
Items are:
1.) A murthy or vigraha of a Hindu God to do daily puja as requested by
refugees
2.) A nanadaa deepa or lamp
3.) A Grocery gift Card (most important) They can only do this through
donations. So far they have collected $2260 but they need to collect a
total of $5000 for 75 families. Please Please HELP THIS
EXCELLENT HINDU CAUSE by contacting the SEWA coordinator Raghav Narayan
at
raghav.k.narayan@...
<http://us.mc552.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=raghav.k.narayan@gmail.com\
> and the volunteer lead P.S.Prakruthi at vyuha5@...
<http://us.mc552.mail.yahoo.com/mc/compose?to=vyuha5@gmail.com>
Please visit
http://www.sewausa.org/ <http://www.sewausa.org/>
http://www.sewausa.org/bhutanese-refugee...nt-project
<http://www.sewausa.org/bhutanese-refugee-empowerment-project> Article
in Boston Globe:
http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/...their_hin\
du_brethren/
<http://www.boston.com/news/local/articles/2009/03/29/embracing_their_hi\
ndu_brethren/>
An eyewitness account: Please read below: Bhutanese Refugees at Concord,
NH:
These folks are in need of help. They have been overlooked by community
service groups so far, perhaps due to their far-north location. There
are about 40 families in Concord, approximately 20 of them live in one
apartment complex (the one we visited), and the rest are a few block
away. They get their support from Govt. through Lutheran Social Services
Agency (the agency name may not be exactly that, but something to do
with Lutheran...). The Govt. help lasts for 8 months only. Some of
them have already exceeded that limit and thus are somehow surviving
with other refugees' support. The families with dependents/minors
(under 18) have been able to get temporary 3-month extensions but no
such extensions are available to those (including women who are over 18.
Many of them speak little or no English. Being able to speak/understand
Nepali was a big help to me. Immediate Needs: Jobs (e.g., cleaning,
housekeeping, priest, ...), bus pass or petty cash to pay for bus fare
(to go to library, language classes, etc.), personal computers, English
tutoring, computer skills, self-help skills (e.g., how to take advantage
of unemployment agencies for job search and resume prep, etc.),
how/where to conduct final rites / Hindu funerals, etc.
Long-Term Needs: Winter clothing, easy access to places of worship /
temples, .... Chinmaya can help by sending a few people on a periodic
(weekly/biweekly/?) basis. Can bring some simple snack/beverages along,
be with them for a couple hours and help them with tutoring, guidance,
etc. Other ideas include old/used computer donation drive, winter
clothing drive, fund raise to purchase bus passes, etc. Example#1: One
gentleman with bachelors degree ("Shastry" degree) in Sanskrit, who used
to be a priest back home (and would love to work as a priest or a
priest's helper here in US), is diabetic, neither he nor his wife has a
job, and have a toddler child to support. They lost their health and
other benefits recently (past 8 months), but received temporary
extension because of the child.
Example#2: A young lady whose parents are yet to arrive (she has not
been given specific dates) who lost her benefits last month, has no job,
has not received an extension because she is 18+ and has no dependents,
been living in an apartment without electricity/utilities (got
disconnected), surviving with other refugees help. The Lutheran agency
has asked her to wait until they get another refugee family to arrive so
she can live with them, but no dates have been given.<!--QuoteEnd--><!--QuoteEEnd-->