Community Connected through Caring

Written by Denise Attwood

Since the morning of August 26th I have been writing thank you messages to everyone who has so kindly donated to the work that Conscious Connections Foundation does in Nepal. Each message I write brings a pain to my heart, not only because it acknowledges the complete devastation that Nepal has undergone, but also because it brings to my mind how much we truly care about the fate of others, even those who are far away from us. We are fundamentally good people. And so as my message starts, from the bottom of our hearts we thank you for your support of the people in Nepal, again and again and again you step up and we witness all of the beauty of a community connected through caring. Thank you.

As all of you know, who have followed us through the Nepali Civil War, the 2015 earthquake, the Indian Embargo, Covid and now this completely unfathomable disaster of the Rasuwa floods, there is much to do in the immediate weeks ahead and there will be even more to do to help these communities in the long run. CCF along with Ganesh Himal Trading is committed to being there for the long haul. We have worked in Nepal for 40+ years and the well-being of that country and her amazing people is at the base of all that we do.

We are lucky. All of our artisan partners and their villages are safe. Those we work with are not in an area hit by the flooding, however, all of Nepal has been shaken to the core by this event. Kathmandu is receiving thousands of flood refugees who have no place to return to. There will be years of rebuilding and resettling lives that have been completely upturned. The damage is as many have said, surreal and unimaginable.

You can be assured that we are already at work as requests have already been made for 750 reusable menstrual pad kits for women who have been evacuated to Kathmandu. CCF supplied 245 on the 26th and is supplying the rest this week. We have people also on the ground talking with the monasteries who are housing hundreds of evacuated flood victims and are supplying them with basic items like steel cups and soap. We have a donation of 120 solar lights and are purchasing 40 more with phone chargers that will soon to be carried to Nepal and distributed in the flood impacted areas. And the CCF board has met to assess our strengths for the long term work ahead.

Several days ago I talked with one of our partners in Nepal and asked them what they felt needed to be done and her immediate response was that we in the Global North must address our impacts on the climate, recognize that Nepal cannot address this on her own and we must act as a global community to help those who are suffering the brunt of our excesses. They know this is the tip of the iceberg, so to speak, in the Himalayas and they want us to act. They want us to vote for those leaders who will address this climate disaster.

As our other partner, Srishti Bajracharya, in Nepal said right after the floods:

"Global warming is real. Climate change is happening now. It is not a distant threat or a problem for future generations.

It is happening in our mountains, our rivers, our villages, and our homes. This is not just about climate. It is about people, lives, homes, livelihoods, and our future.

Let us not wait until the next disaster to acknowledge it. The world must act—and it must act now."

If you have donated to CCF, thank you. If you intend to donate please know that we will use your money with care and efficiency and look for the longest term impact. Please continue to say your prayers and hold Nepal deeply in your hearts. If you would like to understand more about the work that CCF is doing for relief in Nepal please follow our blog on CCF’s website for updates. Our most recent post is here: https://www.consciousconnectionsfoundation.org/ccf-blog/looking-beyond-the-first-weeks

Finally, as I wrote those messages of thanks and my heart broke for all of those who are suffering and will suffer, an image came to mind and as I sat and cried thinking of you and them I found hope and I wrote:

Imagine…

the 1000 arms of Avalokiteshvara, the Buddha of Infinite Compassion, embracing us all.

Now look around you and see the 50,100,1000 hands of all of those around you.

Imagine them all embracing the world with compassion and action.

We are the 1000 arms, here in this place and time

we are called to do this work with all of our hearts.