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I am Marc Gold and I started this small project 16 years ago, in 1989. The idea is very simple. Every year about 100 people contribute to the project and I take the money to Third World Countries and look for the neediest people I can find. I then put the money to work in the most compassionate, appropriate, culturally compatible, constructive and practical manner possible. I pay for my own travel expenses. You put the donation into my hands and I put the funds directly into the hands of the needy or a trusted grassroots organization helping them.
October 2005 Update
I'm taking things slower than in the past, simply because I have more time. It's so much better to really have the time to explore projects more thoroughly than before. I haven't actually donated very much money as yet, but I have laid the groundwork with a number of projects for that very purpose.
1. August 12, 2005. Khao Lak, Thailand. I met an American man named Reid Ridgeway who is running a project in Khao Lak, two hours North of Phuket in Southern Thailand. Khao Lak is where the most people in Thailand died (approximately 5,000), or were injured and suffered from the tsunami. The worst damage also occurred in Khao Lak.
The project is called: Ecotourism Training Center. It is part of a long term tsunami recovery effort that trains 24 young Thai men and women in three integrated areas of study: Computers, English and learning how to become diving instructors (as in scuba) so that these young people can get decent jobs in the tourist industry.—all part of a curriculum focused on environmental education and sustainable tourism. All of these students lost family members and their housing and employment. They don't want handouts — they want to work again and this program will allow them to do it.
I went there to learn more, and investigate his project. They now have the facility decked out with an Apple computer lab, a professional video editing suite, a class room with a projection screen, a dive gear maintenance lab, two long tail boats specially equipped for diving and research operations, and now the 24 students are funded and starting to learn. 100 Friends made a donation of 25,000 Baht ($610) to help them reach their goals. I'm more than satisfied that this project is really helping some young people to get back on their feet after suffering from the devastating tsunami.
Here's their website (Ecotourism Training Center):
I've also talked with many people who were here when the tsunami hit, learning a great deal about that whole tragedy. It's so frightening and tragic. Most people died or were injured by the debris in the water (tins roofs, cars, furniture, metal, etc.).
2. September 10th, 2005, Mae Sae, Thailand. I was lucky enough to meet with Sompop Jantakra, the director of the Development Education Program for Daughters and Communities (DEPDC). This is a photo of me and Sompop at his headquarters in Mae Sae:
DEPDC is a community-based organization offering education and full-time housing for children to prevent them from being trafficked into the sex industry or other exploitative child-labor situations. Most of these girls are hill-tribe children and they are truly stateless and often denied education and job opportunities. PBS did a program about Sompop Jantakra and DEPDC about 6 months ago. Sompop has helped to prevent hundreds of girls each year from being sold into Thailand's worst brothels.
With few resources, he and a network of volunteers identify children at risk. Then he persuades, pleads, begs or berates parents into allowing them to attend his school for free. Once there, the girls are taught vocational skills, then given help finding jobs or scholarships for higher education. If they are in danger, he will shelter them. The school, which depends on donations for survival, now also offers counseling services, a library and a legal aid center. "To see girls enslaved in brothels, it hurts," says Sompop. "If you can protect one child, you protect future generations."
Here's the link about that program:
http://www.pbs.org/opb/thenewheroes/meet/sompop.html
I visited DEPDC in a town near the Burmese border called Mae Sae (pron. may-sigh). They have numerous buildings for offices, a school, meeting rooms, dormitories (some kids stay there, others come from the outside, they stay at their homes). They also have a separate shelter for sex workers who have managed to escape or in some way get away from what is true sexual slavery in the brothels. This is Sompop and some of the girls he is protecting:
3.September 12, 2005. Bangkok, Thailand. I visited a program called Last Wishes. Chulalongkorn Hospital operates this program to help terminally ill children with cancer get their wishes fulfilled to give them some joyful moments during their last days. It is loosely modeled after the Make-A-Wish Foundation in the U.S.
I met with Dr. Issarang Nuchprayoon from the Department of Pediatrics, Faculty of Medicine at Chulalongkorn University and the project coordinator, Ms. Khun Ninbom. At Chulalongkorn University Hospital, they see around 80 new children with cancer a year. Fortunately most of them can be cured. Some of them are not so lucky, they suffer a cancer relapse and have a terminal disease.
One child requested to go the Chiang Mai Zoo (about 600 kilometers to the north of Bangkok) to see the pandas. They showed me many photos of the children and told me their stories. I will be meeting some of the kids and 100 Friends funds will be used to help some of them. They also asked me to teach counseling skills to Khun Ninbom, their coordinator, and I will do so. They are also telling other pediatric oncologists in Thailand about 100 Friends so I can help more young people in other hospitals in Thailand. This is a picture of one of the children with his mother in the program 100 Friends will be assisting:
After Thailand I went to Cambodia and visited numerous projects. Here is a brief summary of the places I went to visit and to help:
1. September 16, 2005. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. All Ears Cambodia is an organization that saves lives through curbing middle ear disease and its spread to the brain. There are about 1,300,000 people in Cambodia with (usually untreated) ear problems and several hundred thousand Khmer (Cambodians) with disabling hearing loss. Half of these are children. The majority of them live within rural areas, and to date, this NGO is the only organization in all of Cambodia that provides diagnostic and rehabilitative services for all age ranges, from newborns to the elderly. I met with the staff in Phnom Penh.
They need two rather important items of equipment. The first is an instrument that is used to remove discharge from infected ears and this device is essential if the job is to be done properly (cost=$190). The second item is an electronic device used for measuring compounds to within units less than one gram when making up ceruminolytic agents, and those used to curb active outer and middle ear disease (cost=$300). 100 Friends will pay for both machines.
2. September 16, 2005. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. Steung Meanchey Municipal Waste Dump is located in southern Phnom Penh. It is one of the saddest sights I have ever seen. It is the closest thing to hell that anyone is ever likely to see on this earth. It is nicknamed "Smoky Mountain" because of the miasma of smoke that the dump constantly gives off. It is literally on fire; the waste creates methane as it rots and the methane burns. In monsoon season and throughout much of the rest of the year, the surrounding area is swamped and the children live and play in fetid water. Roughly 2,200 people, about 600 of which are children, live and work there. Cambodia is not alone in allowing children to work as scavengers at dump sites. There are thousands of child laborers at such sites in Vietnam, the Philippines, India, Nigeria, Brazil, Argentina and the Dominican Republic. Here is a photo of some of the children at work in the municipal dump:
Many of the approximately 600 children who work at the dump have parents or relatives who also work on the dump and look after them. Some of them go to school, but most do not - at least not on a regular basis -, and it is safe to say that virtually none of them ever completes a primary school education. Many of the children here were born into impoverished families that moved to the area from the countryside after the end of Pol Pot's murderous rule. Instead of finding urban fortunes, many of them settled in a slum that was erected along the rim of Steung Meanchey, a dump infested with flies that gravitate to the leeching refuse, the dregs of a nation. About 10,000 people live in the slum that borders Steung Meanchey. Here is a photo of one of the children at the dump searching for items to recycle. The photo was taken by Jon Warren of the Photo Project:
Many kids do not have proper footwear. For many it's only flip-flops; even worse, some go barefoot. Foot injuries are very common here as needles, glass, and metal all create hazards. For some of the youngest kids, the dump also serves as a playground. Here is a photo of a boy I interviewed at the dump. He said that his dream in life is to go to school (he never has gone) but he also said that he had no hope that would ever happen. I will try to find him and put him in one of the programs.
You can see the children's centers, look at photos of the kids and learn their unbelievable stories here:
These web sites have more about their story and even more amazing photos:
>http://www.pbase.com/maciekda/stungmeanchey2005
>http://www.talesofasia.com/cambodia-stungmeanchey.htm
3. September 19, 2005. Siam Reap, Cambodia. I met a young Cambodian girl named Nawi. She works as a hotel clerk. Her salary is $65 per month. She has no hope of improving her station in life unless she can develop her ability to speak English and learn how to use a computer. But the cost for these courses is way beyond her reach. 100 Friends paid $170 for courses in English and computers for her. She was overjoyed and said that no one had ever helped her in this way before.
4. September 21, 2005. Phnom Penh, Cambodia. I went to a program called Magna: Hope for the Children. This is a program for Cambodian children with HIV/AIDS. When my sister and I entered the orphanage we discovered 30 small children between the ages of 3 and 12 years old (most of the looked to be about 5 years old).
They all have HIV and most of their parents are dead. It's run by Martin and Denisa Bandzak and Roman Meszaros from Slovakia. A few of the children looked like they were 3 or 4 years old but in fact they were 8 or 9 years old. To see a nine year old boy who weighs about 25 pounds and looks like he is 4 years old is truly heartbreaking. Only 25% of the children are receiving the life-saving ARV (antiretroviral) drugs so deparately needed. The only barrier is a lack of money to purchase the drugs. A little girl died just last week. I will try to find access to these drugs when I return to the US in January, 2006. 100 Friends donated $500 to the program.
I will be going back to Cambodia and I will also be spending time in Sri Lanka and possibly Bandeh Aceh, Indonesia helping tsunami survivors. Stay posted.
Blessings, Marc
ABOUT 100 FRIENDS AND SOME HISTORY
Who do we help?
We have been able to provide assistance to thousands of needy people in many countries. I have now completed nine humanitarian missions and dispensed over $65,000 directly into the hands of needy people all over the world. We try to find people who are not being assisted by anyone else. We make sure that the person needing the help really receives it. The 100 Friends Project operates under the auspices of the Foundation for Sustainable Development, it is a 501(c) 3 tax-deductible charity organization. About 90% of the funds go directly into the hands of needy individuals (especially women and children) and small grassroots organizations for medical, educational, vocational, emergency assistance and other expenses. Sometimes we follow-up with donations after an initial grant and sometimes grants are given on a one-time basis. For an extensive list of the many ways that 100 Friends puts the money to work, click here.
The project began in 1990, when I (Marc Gold) visited India for the first time. I met a Tibetan woman in the Himalayas who had a terrible ear infection, and I was able save her life with antibiotics that cost about $1.00. For another $30 I purchased a hearing aid that restored her hearing. I was shocked to learn that something so important could be accomplished with so little. I began raising money among my friends, whatever they could give, as little as $1 or as much as people were able to donate. Then, in 1992, I traveled to India with over $2,200 in donations, with the goal of distributing it as directly and intelligently as possible. The rest, as they say, is history. Funds have been donated in India, Thailand, Cambodia, Tibet, Nepal, Vietnam, Afghanistan, Bangladesh, South Africa, Mozambique and Turkey.
Total Donations Raised
Year Yearly Amount Cumulative Total 1992 $2,111 $2,111 1996 $3,367 $5,478 1998 $4,159 $9,637 2000 $2,478 $12,115 2001 $6,700 $18,815 2002 $9,010 $27,825 2003 $18,405 $46,230 2004 $18,300 $64,530
What can you do with $64,530?
That is the amount of money I have raised since 1989 for the 100 Friends Project. About 12% of the funds went for newsletters, mailing, website costs, etc. I pay all of my own travel expenses. So the approximately amount that was actually used for helping needy people in the Third World is 88% of $64,530 which comes to $56,786. Here’s what I did with that amount. I think it’s astounding how much you can do with so little:
1. 1989. Purchased antibiotics to save the life of a Tibetan woman with ear infections. ($1)
2. 1989. Restored hearing of Tibetan woman with a hearing aid. ($35)
3. 1992. Medicines for Mother Teresa program in Calcutta, India. ($100)
4. 1992. Medicine for Dr. Jack Preger’s street clinic in Calcutta, India. ($100)
5. 1992. Support provided for a school for blind children. Calcutta, India. ($100)
6. 1992. Support provided for medicine fund in a pediatric unit hospital in Aurangabad, India. ($100)
7. 1992. Support provided for baby orphans in Mumbai, India. ($50)
8. 1992. Major heart surgery for a woman in Trivandrum, Kerala, India. ($75)
9. 1992. Housing for a family in Trivandrum, Kerala, India. ($50)
10. 1992. Support for CRDS orphanage in Kolkata, India. ($200)
11. 1992. Support provided for medicine fund in a pediatric unit in a hospital in Puri, Orissa, India. Also toys for the sick children. ($100)
12. 1992. Purchased 100 pairs of shoes for orphans in Trivandrum, Kerala, India. ($100)
13. 1992. Paid for costumes (for a show for the parents) for developmentally disabled children at a Mother Teresa Centre in Panjim, Goa, India. ($80)
14. 1992. Paid for various medicines for a clinic outside of Calcutta, West Bengal, India. ($125)
15. 1996. Toys, masks puppets etc. for orphans in India. ($110)
16. 1996. Antibiotics, surgical gloves, antifungal creams and other medicine at King George Medical College pediatric unit in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India ($576).
17. 1996. Money for asthma medicine for a small boy in Lucknow, Uttar Pradesh, India ($3)
18. 1996. Paid for medicine and other supplies at the Mother Teresa Center in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. ($86).
19. 1996. Food, blankets, medical care for one-legged sadhu named Swami Satender ($25).
20. 1996. Paid for schoolbooks and shoes for a boy named Rajesh Kumar in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. ($20)
21. 1996. Bought a phototherapy (ultraviolet) unit for sick babies at the Shiva Prasad Gupta Hospital in Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh, India. ($314).
22. 1997. Donation to social workers in Kolkata who help the needy at the Howrah Train Station. Kolkata, West Bengal, India. ($300).
23. 1997. Donated funds for Divine Fellowship School for the Blind. For construction, teacher salaries and food. Kolkata, West Bengal, India. ($57).
24. 1997. Donated funds for orphanage called Children’s Rights Development Center (CRDS). For salaries, food, electricity, school tuition and medical costs. Kolkata, West Bengal, India. ($1000).
25. 1997. Funds for music, posters, boom box etc. to brighten the mood at the AIDS clinic of the All India Institute for Medical Sciences. New Delhi, India. ($77).
26. 1997. Purchased medicine to save the life of a man with tuberculosis named Babu Rama. Also set him up in business for life with a roadside stand in front of his house. New Delhi, India. ($110).
27. 1997. Bought a sewing machine and supplies to help a widow and her six children in the slums. New Delhi, India. ($50).
28. 1997. Helped a poor family of six living in a shack to start a small business. New Delhi, India. ($43).
29. 1997. Bought shoes for a Nepali family of six. Met the father in the Men’s room at the New Delhi Airport. New Delhi, India. ($10).
31. 1998. Donated funds to Michael Daube for a medical clinic in rural Orissa, India, an extremely poor area. New Delhi, India. ($200).
32. 1998. Donated funds to a poor Tibetan monk I met in the Himalayas. Ladakh, India ($13).
33. 1998. Donated funds to a poor and very remote monastery called Rezong in the Himalayas. Ladakh, India. ($300).
34. 1998. Donated funds to a poor and very remote Nunnery called Thardot Choling Nunnery in the Himalayas. Ladakh, India. ($275).
35. 1998. Donated to various extremely poor people in the remote Tibetan villages of Shara and Phutgse in the Himalayas. Donated blankets, clothing, shoes, socks, coats, cash grants etc. Ladakh, India. ($139).
36. 1998. Donated funds to help rebuild the local Himalayan temple near the Tibetan border. The temple is called Tundel Dadul Gompa. Ladakh, India. ($13).
37. 1998. Went to a mosque in the Himalayan city of Leh. Paid for shoes to Muhammad Hussein. Leh, Ladakh, India. ($5).
38. 1998. Donated funds via an organization called, “Save the Children” for two children with heart problems, for medical care. Leh, Ladakh, India. ($53).
39. 1998. Donated funds for Rudolph Subha. He needed money for a bus trip home to his family. Leh, Ladakh, India. ($11).
41. 1998. Donated to SOS Tibetan Children’s Village (3,000 orphans live here). Funds are for education expenses, sunglasses, and medical costs. Leh, Ladakh, India. $460.
42. 1998. Donated to Ladhaki Children’s Fund. Buddhist monks run this winter program for village children for education, nutrition and spiritual practice. Leh, Ladakh, India. ($50).
43. 1998. Donation to help three orphanages called Children’s Rights Development Services for salaries, food, clothing medical expenses and food. Kolkata, India. ($1500).
44. 1998. For Babaloo, a poor cook. For food and housing expenses. Kolkata, India. ($7).
45. 1998. For Sisters of Charity, organization of Mother Teresa. For medicine dispensed in the slums. Kolkata, India. ($305).
46. 2000. For a youth project in Mandela Township. To help them in an income-generating project. Cape Town, South Africa. ($400).
47. 2000. Donation made to various extremely poor people met while trekking in the Himalayas. Average income is $194 per year. Annapurna Circuit, Nepal. ($57).
48. 2000. For Chutter Gorung, a paralyzed Tibetan lady in the Himalayas. For food and medicine. Annapurna Circuit, Nepal. ($7).
49. 2000. Donation for a poor couple’s children for food, clothing and education. Annapurna Circuit, Nepal. ($40).
52 day journey. Funds for clothing and food. Annapurna Circuit, Nepal. ($10).
51. 2000. Western Regional Medical Center in Nepal. Set up a special fund with the social workers for neediest cases. Some of the funds will be for income-generating schemes. Pokhara, Nepal. ($700).
52. 2000. Funds to Kamal Gurung, a patient at the hospital to start a small business selling magazines. Pokhara, Nepal. ($7).
53. 2000. Donated funds for orphanage: Children’s Rights Development Center (CRDS). For salaries, food, electricity, school tuition and medical costs. Kolkata, West Bengal, India. ($1253).
54. 2000. For Babaloo, a poor cook. For food and housing expenses. Kolkata, India. ($11).
55. 2000. For Iban, a man I met in Vietnam. He lost both legs to a landmine during the Vietnam War. For rent, his son’s education, food and medical costs. Nha Trang, Vietnam. ($50).
56. 2001. Spent funds on toys to bring to children all over India. India. ($75).
57. 2001. Donated funds for earthquake relief in Gujarat, India. My friend Andrea Serrahn was there and used the funds to help families that she personally knew about. Gujarat, India. $200.
58. 2001. Donated funds to a woman and her eight-year-old son. Her son is suffering from severe allergies and she needed money for medicine and treatment. Dharamsala, India. ($43).
59. 2001. Helped an old woman to support herself for a year (until she gets on her feet, which happened) so she wouldn’t have to go back to Tibet and face oppression from the Chinese police. Also gave her funds to go on a religious pilgrimage in India to the birthplace of the Buddha. Dharamsala, India. ($200).
60. 2001. Assistance provided for 53 Tibetan Nuns at the Shugsep Tibetan Buddhist Nunnery Monastery. Many of the Nuns had been tortured by the Chinese authorities. Donation for trauma center, food and education. Dharamsala, India. ($106).
61. 2001. Donation for Gu Chu Sum, an organization that rehabilitates Tibetans who were imprisoned and brutally tortured by the Chinese authorities. Donation for housing, education, vocational training, medical care etc. Dharamsala, India. ($778).
62. 2001. Help for Mr. Phuntsok Wangchuk. He stays at Gu Chu Sum; he was tortured by the Chinese authorities for five long years. These funds are for his medical and educational expenses. Dharamsala, India. ($33).
63. 2001. Tibetan Nun’s Project. Donation to help elderly nuns for shelter, bedding, clothing, medical care and education. Dharamsala, India. ($111).
64. 2001. Assistance provided for the Tibetan New Generation Support Project. For school supplies, medicine, clothing for poor Tibetan children. Gangtok, Sikkim, India ($333).
65. 2001. Donation for orphanage: Children’s Rights Development Center (CRDS). For salaries, food, electricity, salaries, medical expenses, school bags, uniforms and books, tuition and medical costs. Kolkata, West Bengal, India. ($1111).
66. 2001. For AHEAD (Association for Health Environment and Development). A health project for over 5,000 women and out-of-school adolescents in five different slums. New Delhi, India ($467).
68. 2001. Assistance given a young boy picking through garbage looking for recyclable or saleable items. He was carrying a filthy bag to carry the items. Manali, India. ($2).
69. 2001. Donation for a homeless 10-year-old boy whose family is over 800 miles away. He collects plastic and sells it to make money. Bought shoes, food, shirt, sweater and hat to take a bus home Manali, Himachal Pradesh, India. ($13).
70. 2001. Donation for Arjun, a cobbler working on the street. He has 5 children. And lives on about $45-$65 per month. He is in debt because he had to pay a dowry for his daughter. When asked about his future he said, “I have no hope for my future.” Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($22).
71. 2001. Dr. V.M. Singh the chief pediatrician at the Shiva Prasad Gupta District Hospital in Varanasi. This hospital serves the very poor of the Varanasi area. Dr. Singh said they needed a machine called an A.C. warmer for newborn babies This device heats the room when it is cold and cools it off when it is too hot. He said the AC warmer would save the lives of over 100 babies per year. Donation for the AC warmer. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($711).
72. 2001. Met a Hindu man named Majdar on the street. He is a beggar who can only get around with crutches. He makes 40-80 Rs. per day begging ($1-$2), lives in a tiny flat where he pays 200 Rs. per month rent ($4). Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($22).
73. 2001. Met a Muslim girl named Sabina, age 11. She is too poor to go to school She collects plastic and tin from trashcans to sell. For this she makes 20-30 Rs. per day, less than 75 cents. She doesn’t know how to read. When asked what makes her happy she said, “Toys, going to the Mosque, and festivals. ($7).
74. 2001. Met a 68-year-old Hindu man living alone on the streets named Shyam Das. He is from Bihar, has no wife or children and was. He said, “Everybody has thrown me out”. When asked what he would do with the donation he said, “I’ll eat. I haven’t had much to eat because I’ve had no money.” Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($9).
75. 2001. Met a 70-year-old man named Sumara who has asthma. Donated funds for medical care. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($9).
76. 2001 Raju, age 31, works at the burning ghats, which is a famous Hindu cremation site. Some 250 corpses a day are dealt with at the burning ghats. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($11).
77. 2001. I met Satnya Ram Prasad Kersari, he is 32 years old and he was a rickshaw driver until a jeep severely injured him in a hit-and-run accident. He has received no compensation and now needs crutches to walk and begs for a living. He is homeless and wishes he could marry and have a family. He sees his future as, “dark”. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($11).
78. 2001. Met a homeless 49-year-old Hindu man named Bharat Sahani. He collects anything of value he can find in trashcans. He said that he has never experienced any happiness in his life and said that no one had ever shown him any kindness. He lives on 50Rs. per day ($1). When we gave him the donation he wept and thanked us. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($15).
79. 2001. Met an 11 year-old-boy named Salesh from Bihar. He makes money with a scale for people to get weighed. He has never been to school. He lives with his father. He makes 30 Rs. per day (75 cents). He wants to be a rickshaw driver when he grows up. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($3).
80. 2001. Met a nine-year-old little Muslim girl named Rita. She makes and sells baskets to help her family survive. She is too poor to go to school. She gives the proceeds from selling baskets to her parents. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($7).
81. 2001. Donation for a man named Kishan Sahai. He is a beggar with no family. Varanasi, Uttar Pradesh. India. ($2).
83. 2001. Met Kelsang Sherab (age 75) and Tsamchoe (67). This old Tibetan couple lived underneath a shop in a tiny flat. They both have health problems so a donation was made for food, medicine, rent, electricity bills and water.
84. 2001 A donation for Dawa Tsering, a Tibetan Buddhist monk. The money is for him to go to Kham Province in Eastern Tibet to see seen his parents for the first time in 15 years. Gangtok, Sikkim, India. ($111).
85. 2001. For a Muslim man from Bihar who has 5 children and the wife has died. They were sitting by the Delhi train station. He is a cobbler.
86. 2001. Donation for Ratan Lal, age 62. He was selling papad on the street (a kind of Indian fried cracker). He sells them for 1 Rupee each (about 2 cents). He makes about 1200 Rupees per month ($27). New Delhi, India. ($11).
87. 2001. Assistance provided to Bulan Mathur. He is 40 years old, handicapped (both legs are paralyzed) and makes a living selling barbequed corn on the street. He makes 3000 Rs. per month ($67) and is homeless. New Delhi, India. ($11).
88. 2001. Help for Ramal Gopal, a 62-year-old homeless man who sells neem for 50 paise each (1 cent) Neem is a small twig used medicinally and to clean one’s teeth. He lives on between 300-1200 Rs. per month ($7-$27). New Delhi, India. ($11).
89. 2001. Donation for Gopal Das. He is a bicycle rickshaw driver who sleeps in his vehicle. New Delhi, India. ($11).
90. 2001. Help for Bapu Lal. He is 55 years old and he makes a living by letting people weigh themselves on his scale. He makes 15-30 Rupees per day (35 to 70 cents). New Delhi, India. ($11).
91. 2001. Assistance for Samsun, a 23-year-old Muslim mother. She has 4 children and one of them is handicapped. She and the children hadn’t eaten anything all day when I met her. She lives on $27 per month. New Delhi, India. ($11).
92. 2001. Assistance for Maya, a 30-year-old Hindu mother of four. She sells herbs and medicine on the street and is extremely poor. New Delhi, India. ($11).
93. 2001. Donation for Surosh, a 17-year-old boy with no legs. By begging on the street he is able to earn 25 Rupees per day (55 cents). His biggest dream in life is to learn how to read. New Delhi, India. ($11).
94. 2001. Donation for Uma Devi, a 25-year-old woman who is handicapped. She makes 10-20 Rs. per day by begging (25-50 cents) so she can buy chapati, rice and dal to eat. New Delhi, India. ($11).
95. 2001. Donation for Uma Devi, a 25-year-old woman who is handicapped. She makes 10-20 Rs. per day by begging (25-50 cents) so she can buy chapati, rice and dal to eat. New Delhi, India. ($11).
96. 2001. Met Benjamin L. Joseph, 68, a street musician from Trinidad. He had a major stroke. He plays steel drums beautifully. After his stroke he had to relearn how to speak and walk and many other things including playing the steel drums from the beginning. He said his playing sounds different now, somehow deeper and softer. Amsterdam, Netherlands. ($100).
97. 2002. This money is for an orphanage in Calcutta for 65 children The money donated was for groceries, medical expenses, gas cylinders, milk and vegetables. Calcutta, India. ($500).
98. 2002. Kolkatar Khabar night shelter is for the children of sex workers in Kalighat It provides safe shelter, educational opportunities, recreational facilities and health care. Calcutta, India. ($200).
99. 2002. For Shuktara, an excellent program for handicapped children in Calcutta. The money is for general expenses to help run the program. Calcutta, India. ($100).
100. 2002. For Uddami, a program that provides free computer and Internet access and skill training for youths of working age from disadvantaged backgrounds. Donation was for a printer and scholarships.
101. 2002. Donation for shoes and living expenses for Mohammed Ishmael (taxi driver). Calcutta, India. ($20).
102. 2002. For a homeless 64 year old Buddhist Nun named Ani Kunla at the Jokhang Temple. She has been a nun for 15 years; “Nothing good ever happened to me until now”. Lhasa, Tibet ($100).
104. 2002. Funds given to 100 people in Tibet. When you travel around Tibet you see a lot of deep poverty. I decided, in the spirit of 100 Friends, to find 100 people, mostly on the street, who were clearly in great need and give them various amount of money to assist them. The total amount distributed was $1020 (approximately 8,400 Chinese Yuan) or about an average of $8.20 per person). It is not possible to list all of those people and their circumstance but here are a few examples:
- $25 to a woman with three children who were standing in a garbage dumpster looking for food and other things - $20 to an old woman on two crutches walking in prayer as she circled around the holy Jokhang Temple in Lhasa - $35 to an old man and his family from the rural region. He needed money for shelter, glasses and medical care. - $10 to a woman with a baby trying to sell some kind of Tibetan beads. - $20 to an old woman in rags near Barkar Square in Lhasa. - $30 to a handicapped old man in Gyantse - $15 to an old woman sitting in front of the Tashilumpo monastery in the city of Shigatse. - $5 to a younger mother who had no husband and no place to live. - $18 to a nomadic family near Nam Tso Lake. - $10 to a woman doing prostrations in front of a temple. Tibet ($1020).
105. 2002. Gave funds to a European nurse who meets incredibly poor people who need medical attention. Donation used for cataract operations, broken legs, malnutrition, infections, wheelchairs, burns, cleft pallet etc. Lhasa, Tibet ($750).
106. 2002. Assistance provided for a 76-year-old Tibetan monk who was imprisoned by the Chinese for more than 22 years because he demanded Tibetan independence. The prison authorities broke his hip and repeatedly tortured him in many other ways before they finally released him. Lhasa, Tibet ($240).2002.
107. 2002. Educational expenses for 3 young Tibetan girls. who show a lot of promise, but their parents (farmers) don’t have money to pay for their education. Funds are enough for them to continue their education for another year. F or tuition, books, school uniforms, food, etc. Dzilong, Tibet ($300).
108. 2002. For a 65-year-old monk in Tibet named Lopsang who was in prison and tortured for over 10 years. The prison guards beat him on a regular basis. He suffers from high blood pressure and has boils on his head and he is extremely depressed. Funds are for food, medicine and clothing. He is quite ill and lives alone. Lhasa, Tibet ($100).
109. 2002. For Tibetan friend Thinlay Gyatso, education for his son and living expenses. Also funds for Thinlay’s long-lost family, poor villagers. Lhasa, Tibet and Gangtok, Sikkim ($920).
110. 2002. For Gu Chu Sum Movement of Tibet (Ex-Political Prisoners Association). This organization provides housing, employment, education, job training, counseling, medical care and economic assistance to former political prisoners. They also send money and clothing to prisoners and their families in Tibet. Dharamsala, India ($1,000).
111. 2002. For the neediest cases fund at the Western Nepal Regional Hospital. For people with AIDS, skin diseases and burn victims. Some of the money has been for medicine and some has been allotted to help these individuals earn money to support themselves and their families. Pokhara, Nepal ($1235).
112. 2002. Donation help the children victimized by foreign pedophiles start a hair salon. This business helps the children to earn their own money for themselves and their families so they do not need the money they previously got from pedophiles. Phnom Penh, Cambodia ($390).
113. 2002. Donations to 14 people who were either homeless, had limbs because of landmines or were simply extremely poor. Unemployment is very high, clean water is scarce and education is often not available for the young. Phnom Penh, Cambodia ($210).
114. 2002. Assisted people rummaging through garbage, mothers carrying infants, old people and numerous others poor people I encountered on the road. Saw many dilapidated buildings, urban garbage dumps with people and animals rummaging through them for recyclables and food, slums, beggars, homelessness, traffic mayhem, air pollution from tailpipes and smoldering garbage. Calcutta, India ($170).
115. 2003. For Sarnelli House, they provide medical care and a home for 49 small children who have HIV/AIDS. They come from extremely difficult backgrounds. Some parents are in prison or are drug addicts, many are dead. The children are rejected by Thai society, and nobody wants them. Sarnelli House provides them with everything possible. Nong Khai, Thailand ($1,000).
116. 2003. Help for the Chiang Mai Coordination Center for Protection of Child Rights. They provide care for children who live under extremely difficult conditions (child abuse, victims of violence, extreme poverty, no parents etc.). Chiang Mai, Thailand ($1,000).
117. 2003. Donation made for 38 young children at the Bantoongpong Elementary School. Most of the children are orphans, usually because their parents died from AIDS. Some of the children are themselves infected with HIV. All live with either relatives or grandparents who are very poor. Funds are for their education and living expenses Bantoongpong Village, Thailand ($500).
118. 2003. Assistance provided for the Sivhuoch Family. Mr. Sivhuoch is supporting his brother to go to school and he helps his parents (peasant farmers). Funds will also pay for 1 year of English classes for his younger sister. This skill will open many doors for her so she can support herself. Phnom Penh, Cambodia ($40).
119. 2003. Donation to the Human Development Foundation. They help the children and communities in the slums of Bangkok. They build and operate schools, improve family health and welfare, protect street children’s rights, combat the AIDS crisis and respond to daily emergencies and much more. They offer many, many different types of programs. Klong Toey, Bangkok, Thailand ($1,000).
121. 2003. Donation made to the New Light Foundation. They focus on helping the neediest children in the slums and their parents who are sex workers, street-sweepers and those who burn the bodies of the dead – all traditionally low-caste occupations. This grant was to construct a building for the children’s program, a night shelter, a vocational training center and a medical clinic. Kolkata, India. ($2200).
122. 2003. Grant made to the Uddami Project, which is a free computer school teaching basic job-oriented computer skills. The students are young people of working age (16-25) from economically disadvantaged backgrounds. The donation was used to buy a new printer and full tuition for two students; a teacher salary for a year; half of the price of a new computer. We also help them turn an unused storage room upstairs from the school into a library. Kolkata, India. ($1150).
123. 2003. Funds given to Shuktara Project which has two small family type homes for orphan boys with cerebral palsy and deafness. This donation feed 11 boys and 5 staff for a month. It could also pay the rent on the two homes for a month or cover all their staff wages for one month. Kolkata, India. ($215).
124. 2003. Donation to the Gurepole Children's Education Project. This program serves 22 very poor children and provides educational training, books, exam books, pens, pencils, teacher’s salaries, school uniforms and meals. Kolkata, India. ($500).
125. 2003. Gift to Support TNG. This donation is to start a special orphanage that will house 25 orphans and numerous elderly people. The elderly are those who are homeless and without family support – so in a sense the young and the old will all be orphans. Their initial goal is to establish a family environment where they can raise and educate 15 to 20 children and care for 5 elderly people at a time. Gangtok, Sikkim, India. ($430).
126. 2003. Grant made to the Gu Chu Sum Project. Organized by monks, nuns, and lay people this program grew out of the desire to help the suffering Tibetans remaining in prisons in Tibet and to provide needed support to ex-political prisoner who have journeyed into exile. These monks were imprisoned for their efforts to regain Tibetan freedom and were brutally tortured, physically maimed, and often forced to do back-breaking labor while being fed starvation rations. Their aim is to provide whatever help they can to former and present Tibetan political prisoners, as well as informing the international community about the abuses and needs. Dharamsala, India. ($2215).
127. 2003. Donations made to numerous street people. Women, children, monks, seniors, beggars, people without limbs, homeless people, street musicians, cobblers, street sweepers, garbage and rubbish scavengers, handicapped people and many, many others too numerous to mention. I always reserve some funds to help those I meet along the way. Thailand, Burma, Laos, Cambodia and India ($395).
128. 2003. Grant for the Gul Jan Family. This group of families (23 people in all) was devastated by the wars in Afghanistan. Their homes were completely destroyed during the years of war. 100 Friends helped this family purchase heaters, windows and doors so the kids and poor family will be warm next winter, the children were VERY sick last winter. Kabul, Afghanistan. ($360).
129. 2003. Assistance provided to Amir Khan, a victim of war and landmines. He has no legs one arm is missing a hand. He has no device to help him get around. He simply uses his arms and stump of a hand to pull himself around. This money will go a long way to help him survive in many ways. Kabul, Afghanistan ($100).
130. 2003. Donation for an orphanage called Descendants of Nak-e-Mohammed the Matryred. They care for 700 orphans and another 2,300 are on the way. They have very little help. They are desperately trying to erect dirt and tent shelters before winter comes. I have seen the children and their condition made me weep. There is no clean water and 160 children were very sick this year. Kabul, Afghanistan ($1700).
131. 2003. Funds for the Afghan Mobile Mini Circus for Children. They entertain and educate traumatized children through performances, workshops and training all around Afghanistan. They have performed in front of over 300,000 people (adults and kids). In a land that just finished 23 years of war, making children laugh is part of what MMCC considers as success. They use juggling, story telling, puppet shows, gymnastics, theatre, clown comedies, music, painting, kite flying, sports, and soft fire works. Kabul, Afghanistan ($100).
132. 2003. Donation made to AWEC (Afghan Women's Educational Center). They provide opportunities for women and street children, giving them access to education, vocational skills training, life skills training, psychosocial support, and small scale start up business loans and training. Kabul, Afghanistan ($1100).133. 2003. Donation made to PARSA, they work for needy people, particularly widows, who are on the streets begging, and for those who have "fallen through the cracks". Its aim and goal are to find work and/or develop skills so they can support themselves and their families. Counseling, job training, financial assistance, and income opportunities are provided. Our funds were used to purchase 30 sewing machines for a group of 30 women so they can support themselves. Also purchased 150-200 chickens for elderly women for income generation. This is a wonderful organization with years of experience and success. Kabul, Afghanistan ($2000).
134. 2003. An old couple (Said-a-Kamir Family) is living in a house in Kabul. They were being evicted in 2 weeks because the house they live in is being sold. Said-a-Kamir said, "I've worked all my life and now I'm old and penniless." We have arranged for this old couple to move onto the property of friends and the donation is to be used to construct a small mud/brick room for them. Kabul, Afghanistan ($370).
135. 2003. Grant given Kallyan Nguon, a 21 year old Cambodian girl. She wanted to go to the University but she couldn’t afford it. But now she has the chance to go the college because 100 Friends is paying for her educational expenses. Now she is in school and doing well. Phnom Penh, Cambodia ($200).
136. 2003. Donation made to the Wat Norea Peaceful Children's Orphanage. They have raised orphans in the wake of civil wars, domestic violence, child trafficking and those left behind by parents who died because of AIDS. The orphanage has been running out of funds for food, medicine, salaries and other necessities. These funds will help them until more funds become available. Sangke District, Battambang Province, Cambodia ($220).
137. 2004. Funds for an eye operation for a 10 year old little girl named Sutron. She is severely cross-eyed and the other children make fun of her disability, she cannot read and she suffers from dizziness. She needed the operation some time ago but the family could not afford it. She told me she wanted the operation more than anything. Istanbul, Turkey ($170).
138. 2004. Paid for medical expenses for a cleaning woman named Mrs. Zeynep. Her spine is broken at the tailbone and both of her ears are infected. She is in constant pain and cannot sit down for more than 5 minutes at time. She needed the funds for medical attention and medicine. Istanbul, Turkey ($170).
139. 2004. For a 22 yr. old man named Mr. Ramazan. He has brain cancer. He has to go to the clinic for radiation treatments often and it is VERY difficult for him to get there. He requested $100 for taxi money, so it will be much easier to get to the clinic for his treatments. He has a wonderful spirit and showed great courage. Istanbul, Turkey ($100).
140. 2004. Made a donation to PARSA, the women's center I visited last year. Funds used to help them run various programs for women and children. Kabul, Afghanistan ($500).
141. 2004. Funds for living expenses to the Gul Jan Family. I met this family last year and 100 Friends paid for windows, doors and a heater so they could be warm in the bitter winters here. Kabul, Afghanistan ($100).
142. 2004. The money is to help women who are in prison here under terrible conditions. Their children are in prison along with the Mothers, so the kids will benefit as well. The grant is for supplies (food, medicine, blankets, toiletries etc.), training for income-generation, costs to help with the children and help for the women and children upon release. Kabul, Afghanistan ($1000).
143. 2004. I went with social workers from the staff from the PARSA Women's Project to help some desperately poor families. The first family is called Mohammed Akbar Family. All six of them live in a very small rent-free room in a tiny mosque. Six people shared one room. There are no windows or doors. The four children are all severely physically handicapped. They all exhibit extreme difficulty walking or using their hands and arms and they have to drag themselves on the floor in order to move. They are continuously in a great deal of pain. They have no medical care. The funds will be used to construct windows and doors and to help them to survive (food, medicine, clothing etc. Kabul, Afghanistan ($325).
144. 2004. Grant given to the Khori Gul Family. When we walked into the room we discovered a 60 year old woman (she looked to be 90) lying by herself in the middle of a dirty and very hot room. She was groaning with pain and nausea and she looked very sick indeed. Upon seeing us she started to weep. Her legs were quite swollen and she is completely unable to take of herself. She only has one relative, a son. He earns a meager amount shining shoes in the market. While the son is at work, a neighbor checks in occasionally to help the old woman. If you were with me in this filthy hot room and saw this helpless old woman lying alone in squalor you would feel as sad as I did and would want to help in some way. Kabul, Afghanistan ($150).
145. 2004. Grant given to the Soraya Family. They are a father and mother living with two daughters. One daughter is a war widow, her husband having been killed during the wars. The second daughter, now 18 years old, was severely injured in a rocket attack that landed in her neighborhood while she was coming home from school. Now she cannot walk, has a deformed arm and is always in a lot of pain. They cannot afford any medical treatment. Kabul, Afghanistan ($125).
147. 2004. Went back to the Parwarishgah-e-Watan Orphanage and met a 13 year old boy named Safi who needed an operation for tonsillitis. He has needed the operation for a long time and if it gets any worse it could be fatal. The orphanage simply doesn’t have the money to pay for it. Our grant solved that problem! Surgery takes place in a few days. Kabul, Afghanistan ($60).
148. 2004. Donation for the Modami family for living expenses. The other day I went with Meena (little girl from the family with the heart defect) to the hospital for tests. She doesn't need the heart surgery right away. 100 Friends will pay for the expenses to see a specialist in Peshawar, Pakistan for a second medical opinion. Kabul, Afghanistan ($160).
149. 2004. Grant given to the Aqla Family. They live in a VERY poor area of Kabul called Sano-to-Riam. There are seventeen people in the family including twelve children. The only one who was able to find work is the grandmother. She makes $150 per month and one son makes a pittance as a laborer. Grandma is a cleaning lady in an office. One son is mentally ill. Their rent is 4,000 Afghanis per month ($91). The donation from 100 Friends is towards rent, food, medicine, etc. Kabul, Afghanistan ($140).
150. 2004. Donation for Amir Khan, a 32 year old man who lost both legs and most of the fingers of his left hand to a landmine during the war. I met him on the streets of Kabul in July 2003. Then, one year later, I ran into him again in June 2004 on the streets of Kabul! He was so happy to see me and he went on and on about how much better he is faring since last year because he has a room of his own. Kabul, Afghanistan ($60).
151. 2004. Assistance provided to the Mir Ahmed Family. There is a husband, wife and six children (one son/five daughters) ranging in age from 8 to 17. One daughter has polio and cannot walk. The parents are elderly. The Mother makes $41 monthly as a teacher. The Father has no job, is ill and begs to bring in extra money. They often can’t pay their expenses (rent, school expenses, food, etc. Kabul, Afghanistan ($140).
152. 2004 Donated funds to the Lili Sabri Family. This family has been beset by illness, unemployment and debt. They suffered terribly during the war. The father is very ill, looks like he has tuberculosis. One daughter has polio, one little girl is severely malnourished. Kabul, Afghanistan ($240).
153. 2004 Funds provided for the Abdullah Khan Family. There are 16 people in this extended family. They spent the last 16 years living in refugee camps in Pakistan under terrible, inhuman conditions. They saved for years, one rupee at a time, waiting for the right time to return to Afghanistan. Their rent is $80 per month. They were almost evicted but the money donated from 100 Friends has given them another 3 months for rent, food and other expenses |
