Issue 23 — October 2012 — Special issue
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Issue 23 — October 2012 — Special issue |
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Dear members and friends of the TS and TOS,
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When famine broke out in Ethiopia, Somalia and Kenya last year, a number of you got in touch with us asking if the TOS was going to do anything to help. We contacted the TOS in Kenya who agreed to undertake a project. A village of 55 families 130 km. east of Nairobi was adopted and donations sent from around the world. Do you recall the progress reports of the Convenor of the TOS in Nairobi? We are happy to bring you Usha Shah’s final report here, marking the completion of a six-month feeding programme, the construction of a borehole and other initiatives designed to give a measure of autonomy to Kaamba Village in Kitui district. In her inimitable way, Usha recounts for us the official celebrations at which the TOS team and the villagers happily danced, sang, pumped water and planted trees. The photos will bring a smile to your face. We wish to say a heartfelt thank-you to all who contributed so generously to this collaborative effort. We particularly and especially thank Usha and her team on the spot. Think, for a moment, of the work involved in feeding 55 families for six months at a distance of 130 km. from home, of the challenge of finding land suitable for the construction of a bore hole, obtaining permits, calling for quotes, negotiating contracts, setting up land and water ownership for the villagers, purchasing and delivering fruit trees and solar lighting... All of this was done by the TOS in Kenya whose members are, of course, entirely volunteers. Enjoy Usha’s final report here. P.S. Did we say ‘final’ report? Wait! We have just learned that Unstoppable Usha is lining up vocational training for the ladies of Kaamba…
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And now for our second matter (the worrying one)… A truly theosophical education for the young Time and time again, TS members lament – quite rightly – that little is done to communicate Theosophy to children. They sometimes ask us what the TOS is contributing in this regard. While many schools and literacy programmes for needy children and adults are run by the TOS and TS, few of them provide self-transformation practices and actual lessons in the principles and values of Theosophy. H.P. Blavatsky in The Key to Theosophy, Section XIII on Theosophy and Education, said: “If we had money, we would found schools which would turn out something else than reading and writing candidates for starvation. Children should above all be taught self-reliance, love for all men, altruism, mutual charity, and more than anything else, to think and reason for themselves... We should aim at creating free men and women, free intellectually, free morally, unprejudiced in all respects, and above all things, unselfish. And we believe that much if not all of this could be obtained by proper and truly theosophical education.” The Golden Link College in the Philippines is striving to fulfil the educational work that Blavatsky outlined. From kindergarten to university, it teaches the theosophical philosophy as a way of life. As many of you will recall, five years ago this exceptional College attracted the attention of John Kern, advisor to the Kern Foundation, whose mission is in part to support the popularisation of a knowledge of Theosophy. In a very generous gesture, the Foundation offered to donate a dollar to the College for every dollar we collected – up to a limit of $20,000. This has enabled us to send at least $40,000 each year to the College since 2008. Amazing things have been accomplished with this support for which we are very grateful. The challenge grant for 2012 is $18,000. Major on-going donors are the TOS in Australia, Canada, France, Italy, New Zealand and the USA. Their donations for this year amount to $12,600. For some inexplicable reason we are not managing to move beyond this sum. We are therefore coming to you for help. If we do not do so, we will simply not reach the sum required by December 31. Can you help us to help the Golden Link College? Eighty per cent of the children are from underprivileged backgrounds. For all the students, whatever their economic circumstances, the Golden Link is surely also the Golden Opportunity College.
There are several ways to donate: If your bank is within the USA, you can: 1 a) make a regular cheque payable to the TOS and mail it to: Theosophical Order of Service, PO Box 660, Warrenville, IL 60555. The TOS is a 501(c)(3) organisation. All donations are tax deductible; 1 b) donate by credit card (via PayPal) on-line at www.theoservice.org. Select “CEF – The Golden Link School (Manila, Philippines)” from the drop down menu. If your bank is outside the USA, you can: 2 a) send a bank cheque or draft to Theosophical Order of Service, P.O. Box 660, Warrenville, IL 60555, USA, being sure to write Golden Link in the memo line; 2 b) make an electronic transfer from your bank branch to the American TOS’s bank branch in Wheaton, Illinois (write to us for the bank name and account details); 2 c) donate by credit card (via PayPal) on-line at www.theoservice.org. Select “CEF – The Golden Link School (Manila, Philippines)” from the drop down menu. 2 d) donate through your country’s national TOS or perhaps even TS. For help with any of these transactions, write to our international secretary, Diana Dunningham Chapotin, at
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As we express our gratitude, we must never forget that the highest appreciation is not to utter words, but to live by them.John F. Kennedy |
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