Someone told me that they wanted peace so that they could give it to others. But you can’t give your peace to anybody else, just as you can’t give anybody your time. You cannot give a person who is dying even five more minutes.

Peace is very personal. By having peace in your life, you can become a catalyst for others, this is true, but you cannot give them peace. They have to find their own thirst, have their own understanding, and find that peace within.

That possibility is always there in your life. If you have the wisdom, you will take advantage of it. Sometimes people think wisdom is enlightenment. They see an old painting of a saint with a light over their head and think, “Oh, that’s an enlightened person.” But true enlightenment is when you recognize, and wisdom is deciding to choose the joy that is within you. It is not about knowing what’s coming tomorrow. Problems come and go. If you have a problem, one day it will go just like it came. Things will change—you will change—but the passion for joy, for clarity, will remain with you for the rest of your life.

My thirst for clarity, for joy, has not changed since I was very little. Everything else has changed—my likes, dislikes, what I eat, what I don’t eat. Everything has changed, but that thirst has not changed.

Choose that in your life. This is a choice that has to be made every day—to enjoy your life. You have to come as a free person, not with baggage, not in fear, because that won’t work. Problems come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes they change their appearance. But what do you want in your life? This is a choice you’re going to have to make.

People have hesitation. I cannot do anything about that because this is you. Personally, for me, hesitation is a waste of time. I can tell you a story about hesitation.

Once there was a man who went to a fair. His teeth were really dirty—almost black. As he was walking along, he came to a display where a doctor was selling medicine for 15 cents. The doctor was showing it to people and offering that if somebody came from the audience with completely black teeth, they could wash their mouth with the medicine, and their teeth would become sparkling clean.

This man wanted the medicine, but he couldn’t decide. Maybe it’s too expensive. Maybe he doesn’t really want it. Maybe he does want it. Does it work? He’s standing there thinking, “Should I? Shouldn’t I? Should I? Shouldn’t I?” He’s got a five-cent coin and a ten-cent coin, and he’s rubbing the two coins together over and over. “Should I? Shouldn’t I? Should I? Shouldn’t I?”

Finally, all the bottles are gone except for one. So, the man takes his coins, throws them at the doctor and says, “Here, I’ll take it.” The doctor picks up the coins and says, “With what?” The man said, “Well, I just gave you 15 cents.” And the doctor said, “I’ve been watching you going, ‘Should I? Shouldn’t I? Should I? Shouldn’t I?’ And in this process, you have totally worn down the coins. They are no good now.”

Hesitation is like that. The coins are our time. “Should I? Shouldn’t I? Should I? Shouldn’t I?” If you are ready to make the commitment that joy is what you want in your life, you will be welcome. It’s never too late, but don’t hesitate, because in hesitation, you’re wasting your time.

When this breath comes into you—and it just did—nobody can say, “I have been breathing for 60 years, so it’s okay if I don’t breathe for six hours.” No, it’s not okay. Each breath is needed. Every day joy, peace, needs to be accepted, felt, understood. This is the dance. This is the symphony of life.

Prem Rawat

Grant to China Disabled Persons’ Federation brings clean water and food to survivors

Los Angeles, June 2008 — The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) has donated US$15,000 to the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF) to provide food and bottled water for survivors of the 8.0 magnitude earthquake that devastated southwestern China’s Sichuan Province on May 12. A respected charity that specializes in attending to the needs and rights of disabled people in China, CDPF was quick to respond to the staggering affects of the earthquake that left almost 70,000 dead and more than 370,000 injured.

“TPRF’s grant helps meet immediate needs of food, water and shelter for the hundreds of thousands affected by the worst disaster to hit China in 30 years,” says TPRF President Linda Pascotto. “Within ten days of the disaster, CDPF teams spread out through Sichuan, bringing food and water along with medical professionals and equipment.” Team members included experts in spinal injury, traumatic brain injury, orthopedics, amputation, rehabilitation and psychology.

Recognizing CDPF’s work on behalf of the disabled, TPRF gave the organization US$150,000 at the end of last year, to be disbursed over two years to fund the “Nutritional Plan for Students with Disabilities.” The grant is providing nutritious food to 480 visually impaired, deaf and intellectually disabled students at special schools in Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region's Baise City and to 320 visually impaired students at special schools in Xinjiang Uyghur Autonomous Region.

“I would like to express my sincere gratitude to The Prem Rawat Foundation for the concern and support to the disabled children in the two regions,” says Chen Ya'an, Director General of CDPF’s International Affairs Department.

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About The Prem Rawat Foundation
The Prem Rawat Foundation was created in 2001 by Prem Rawat, known also as Maharaji, and has a dual mission of bringing his message of peace to people around the world and providing essential humanitarian aid to those in need. TPRF partners with other humanitarian organizations to bring food, water and rapid disaster relief where it is most needed. To learn more about TPRF’s humanitarian initiatives, Prem Rawat and his message of peace, please visit www.tprf.org.

About the China Disabled Persons’ Federation
Established in 1988, the China Disabled Persons’ Federation (CDPF) is a unified organization of/for the 83 million persons with various categories of disabilities in China. Headquartered in Beijing, it has a nationwide umbrella network reaching every part of China with about 80,000 full-time workers. http://www.cdpf.org.cn/home/home.htm

It’s so important to understand the subject of this life. I don’t think the importance of truly grasping what this means can be over-emphasized. As human beings, we have an incredible brain, incredible talent. We can accomplish so many things—almost too many. Because we are alive, we can experience peace and joy. We can go to the moon and create space stations. We can peer into the deep, deep reaches of the universe. And because we are alive, we can also create wars, decimate this planet, and make it impossible for everything to exist.

Cell phones have saved many lives. But the same technology that is saving so many lives is also being used in weapons and a weapons delivery system that is wiping out more lives than it is saving. And the saving might happen over a period of a year, but the destruction happens within days.

So, it becomes obvious that we have to choose. And what should our choice be? Well, to put it in context, there is a place you can go that is not really real. It’s virtual. There, you can create an alter-personality of yourself. You can fly. You can do all the things you’ve always wanted to do but could never do, but only virtually, not really. In this virtual place, people buy apartments and sofas for apartments. But when you buy the virtual apartment and the furniture, you pay for it with real money. It’s a million-dollar-a-day business—$365,000,000 a year. And it’s growing. People even meet in this virtual place and get married!

I bring a message about reality, a message that says, “What you are looking for is inside of you.”

Who are you? What are you? What is your core? We need to know that in this day and age more than at any other time. Otherwise, our choices will be virtual or make-believe, but the consequences will be real. Unfortunately, consequences are always real.

What is your real potential? There is a power, a beauty, that resides within. When I turn within, my heart is filled with joy, peace. I have to choose this every single day, because in this world, the line between the virtual and the real can become too faded. And I choose reality, because it is far more beautiful.

An Indian writer named Tulsidas once said, “All that you see is illusion. As far as your eyes can see, it’s all illusion. If you want reality, turn within.” The problem is that we don’t like what we see, but we don’t understand why. So we create an alternative world in which our fantasies can come true. People like Tulsidas said, “Turn within and all your fantasies will come true. The truest wish will come true.” But we have to choose. Every single day, we have tochoose.

Reality is beautiful. Don’t try to measure it, because contentment, joy, love, understanding cannot be measured. There is no scale for them. Understand. Open your heart. Look within and see how beautiful it is. Feel your life filled with joy, filled with gratitude, not explanations or ideas. This is reality; no formulas or philosophies are needed to truly receive the gift every single day.

You are the vessel for the sweetest satisfaction, joy—the pure clear water of contentment. When you are filled with this, you come alive, because that’s what life is. You can understand. You don’t have to be confused. It’s that simple. Realize the pulse of life.

What an incredible opportunity it is to choose a gratification that is given every day when you turn inside. It’s not about the struggles you’ve had or the list of failures, but about each success that took place. You will still make mistakes, but the beauty is it’s not about mistakes or failures. It’s not about the length of the night. It’s about the rising of the sun. The light comes, and a new day begins.

Prem Rawat

Los Angeles, May 2008 —The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) has offered a US$50,000 challenge grant through the Facebook “Causes” page to help thousands of people at risk of starvation in Haiti due to the recent dramatic rise in food prices. TPRF’s challenge to Facebook members is to raise an additional $50,000, for a total of $100,000, which can supply food for 60,000 people for one month.

“Through TPRF’s partnership with Friends of the World Food Program, the fundraising arm of the United Nations’ World Food Program, food will be distributed directly to Haitians at risk of starvation,” says Linda Pascotto, President of TPRF.

The crisis in Haiti made international headlines last month when thousands rioted in the streets to protest the rising cost of staple food like rice and beans. Haiti is rated as the poorest country in the Western hemisphere and one of the least developed in the world. The World Food Program reports that half the population lives on less than $1 per day. The average per capita income is $485 a year. Chronic malnutrition has long been a problem in Haiti, but with the cost of basic foods nearly doubling in the last few months, the situation has reached panic proportions.

The rise of food prices worldwide has had disastrous effects in many countries, but in a country such as Haiti, there are no reserves to fall back on. Most of the once-rich farmland has been depleted of nutrients and destroyed by erosion and flooding caused by tropical storms. Now Haiti imports 80 percent of its rice, the main ingredient of the typical meal. When prices go up, there is only one result possible: some will starve unless outside aid comes their way.

“The riots in Haiti have drawn the world’s attention to the crisis of rising food prices,” said Karen Sendelback, President and CEO, Friends of the World Program. “TPRF’s generous contribution will not only help the people of Haiti through this critical time but also encourage the online community to donate.”

So far, over US$9,000 has been contributed by more than 6,500 people on Facebook Causes for “Feed Hungry Children in Haiti.”

 

Photo credits WFP/Anne Poulsen

 

I want to tell you a story. It is a very different story, because it’s not about a king or a queen  or romance or victory or failure. The purpose is not to occupy your time or entertain you. There is a simple and beautiful reality, and it’s the most magnificent story. It is about what is—this beautiful creation in an incredibly hostile universe.

We’ve been given an opportunity to be here. Is that good or bad? That’s not the point. Let me give you an analogy. Let’s say there is a very beautiful painting by one of the masters—trees, ocean, clouds, sun—but you have never seen it. Then one day you do. However, the painting was packed improperly, and it rubbed against the box. The greens, blues, oranges, and whites have all gotten mixed up. It almost looks weird. All that is left is the master’s signature. And you think, “He painted that?”

Everybody looks at reality with a twist and wonders why reality isn’t beautiful. When it comes down to this little thing called peace, I have found that nobody in this world has a clue what peace is—none, zip, nada, no idea. It’s so sad that it’s almost humorous.

Some people think, “Oh, the end of war is peace.” So you mean that before the wars began, there was peace, and peace led to wars? Some say, “Eliminate the hunger in this world, and there will be peace.” Listen, there are people who purposely go hungry trying to lose weight. If you created a “hunger detector” and drove down all the roads in the world with it, and anybody who was hungry would get food shoved in their mouth, would there be peace? You would have more wars.

So we have concepts. It’s as though we have a film in front of our eyes, while reality is sweetly dancing. All that you see that is so beautiful will not always be there. This time you have is about the opportunity to be alive. It is not about the semantics of your life. It is not about the circuit diagrams of your existence. It is not about all the other things we allow ourselves to be distracted by. Peace is. And peace manifests within the heart of every single human being. That is the only place.

Don’t look at reality through the eyes of all these formulas. Look through the simplest eyes that you have been given, and what will you see? You will see a perfection, hear a rhythm, discover a magnificence greater than what you could ever imagine. That is what this story is about.

The viewpoint we have latched onto because of our ideas is so different that we are incapable of simply appreciating what is—just seeing, understanding the beauty of the breath that comes in and out. It is the simplest act that takes place. It happens naturally. And its existence verifies that you are alive. So powerful is this breath that as long as it is happening, all is well. And if it isn’t happening, the story changes.

The coming and going of this breath is a gift. And absolutely, as long as the breath comes into you, all is well indeed. When you feel that simplicity, you can begin to hear the real rhythm of your life. You can appreciate what you have been given, and the story will be complete.

You will be set free when you understand that you do not need the support of all the ideas, that you can just stand on this bridge of life, and that it is solid, good, strong. You can jump on it, and it won’t fall down. You will be able to appreciate its strength. And then your heart will fill with gratitude for all that you have been given. And when your heart fills with gratitude, you will have the answers without needing the questions. It gets better and better, because there is no limit to that better, and there is no limit to the ability you have been given to enjoy.

Prem Rawat

Los Angeles, May 2008 — The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) has donated US$100,000 to bring immediate aid to the hundreds of thousands of survivors who have been stranded without food, shelter or potable water after Cyclone Nargis hit the country on May 2. Through Friends of the World Food Program, TPRF’s donation will help the UN World Food Program (WFP) provide aid directly to those most affected by the disaster.

“WFP was one of the first humanitarian agencies to be allowed to deliver aid directly to the people rather than through the government of Myanmar,” notes TPRF President Linda Pascotto. “Our years-long partnership with Friends of the World Food Program to distribute aid directly has meant that our donors have been assured that their funds have had a great impact on those most in need. We are again grateful for this partnership, as we are able to assure our donors that their donations are getting directly to the victims of Cyclone Nargis.”

In the three weeks since the cyclone hit, WFP has dispatched a two-week ration of rice for 340,000 people in eight townships in and around Yangon and seven in the Ayeyarwady delta. They have also provided high-energy biscuits for over 107,000 children.

Even so, there are communities that have not yet been reached by any outside agencies. Much of the area is reachable only by boat, which makes the delivery of assistance even more challenging. The Myanmar authorities have now given WFP permission to bring in 10 helicopters, the first of which will arrive from Malaysia on May 22nd. In addition, WFP has now contracted four barges and two tug boats capable of moving large amounts of food and other humanitarian aid. All of this will help to improve the delivery of much-needed aid to these people.

In all, WFP is currently planning to provide lifesaving food assistance for 630,000 people for six months, until the next harvest in October/November. Long-term assistance is needed because the storm has devastated the crops in Ayeyarwady, the country’s largest rice-producing district.

“Time is of the essence,” says WFP Executive Director Josette Sheeran. “We are mobilizing all possible resources to save lives, given the massive disruption in food, water and shelter caused by the storm.”

The damage is widespread and is expected to have long-lasting effects. With an official disaster area that includes 24 million people, which is over half the population of Myanmar (Burma), it is estimated that 1.5 million are in urgent need of assistance. Flooding and seriously damaged infrastructure and communication systems add to the challenge of the rescue effort.

Photo credits WFP/Hakan Tongul

Photo credits WFP/Anabelle Wang

 

 

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The Prem Rawat Foundation was created in 2001 by Prem Rawat, known also as Maharaji, and has a dual mission of bringing his message of peace to people around the world and providing essential humanitarian aid to those in need. TPRF partners with other humanitarian organizations to bring food, water and rapid disaster relief where it is most needed.

 

Here we are in spring. And the tussle is on. On one side, winter does not want to let go of its hold. On the other side, the warmth of summer wants to break in. And this is played out in the skies, the clouds, the lightning, the rainbows, the sun. And on the ground are delicate little plants. They’re fragile. Last fall, they gambled. “To survive the winter, we will need to shed our leaves.” And they did. The gamble was, “Summer will come again and, when it does, we will be able to put out our leaves and once again become whole.”

Now they are prepared, and the slightest hint of summer coming has spurred them to start putting those delicate leaves out again—ready to make that commitment to being complete.

My question is, are you ready for the spring in your life? If you are, I have some very good news for you: Spring indeed has come. Bloom! This is not the time to reason or question or argue whether spring has come for real or not. It is not the time to lament that leaves have to be shed again, so what’s the point.

Do you know that every day you are alive, spring comes? Yes, pain comes, too. What is pain saying to you? “Hello, haven’t we been a little unconscious lately? Awaken.” When pain comes, people think, “Let’s look at this. Let’s analyze it.” That’s not what pain is for. The grinding of the gears inside is because something isn’t right.

As a human being, you have a rhythm. And this rhythm says, “Move. March. Go. Move. March. Go.” Move. Understand your mortality and be inspired to move on, not stop. Understand also that a part of you is immortal.

You’re like a sandwich. One part of you, that you have paid a lot of attention to, is the wrong slice of bread. You should have paid attention to the other slice, because this one will disintegrate. That is its nature. Don’t let that scare you. Let that inspire you to focus on the part that  is truly delicious. And the inspiration to do that resides in your heart. Within you is the drum that plays the beat to know, to understand, to dance to the rhythm of the dance of understanding. “I understand what a gift I have been given. I understand my urge to blossom.”

The beauty is, spring will come. And when I look at those tiny bright green leaves emerging, I say to myself, “Go. Do it. Don’t be threatened. Don’t be disheartened because it is cold today. However strong this grip of this cold is, it will be broken.”

For you, however strong the grip of ignorance is, it will be broken, because the seeker within you is stronger than the sum of all the questions and confusion there is in this world. Such is the drive from inside. And this is the most beautiful drive—to search. If a person searches, I say, “Good. If you search genuinely, you will find the person who will fulfill that quest.” It’s called the thirst, the thirsty, and the water. Because there is a thirst, there is the thirsty. And because there is the thirsty, water will be found.

Some people go through a lot to find the water. And it will be found, because the water you are looking for is within. You don’t have to go to a particular place. You don’t have to look for an oasis or a well or birds or anything. Anywhere you are on this desert, every breath is pumping the most incredible water that will quench your thirst, day and night.

Look within your heart, and you will find the truest essence of your existence. Look within you, and you will find the most beautiful waters. Look within you, and you will find your answers to which you don’t even have questions.

I’m talking about the passion and compassion in this universe and beyond, the most incredible energy that created the sun, the moon, the Earth from dust. From nothing to create everything. To create this Earth with ceilings without pillars, incredible textures of carpet, alive, beautiful, ever-changing. To create a magnificent light, made up of every shade. To create night lights that are unimaginable—the moon, the clouds, the stars, all of it. And for you to have the ability to witness this, not only to see but be able to admire. To make every day and never to make two alike—this is craftsmanship. To make the trees and snowflakes and never two alike. And to make human beings and never two alike.

When the rain pours and pours, remember the magnificence that you have been blessed with. Remember what the possibilities are. Remember that you’re part of it all. You’re not some abstract, good-for-nothing thing that just happened to be. When the craftsmanship is so good then every bit needs to be looked at and admired, nothing is frivolous. Not a grain of sand, not a leaf, not a snowflake, not a raindrop is out of place. And if you accept that, then you must also accept you’re not out of place. See and understand the reality, because it is more beautiful than anything you have imagined. And as spring comes every day in your life, without hesitation, sprout.

Prem Rawat

Instructor Lee Logue facilitates TLN classes

Los Angeles, May 8, 2008 — The Prem Rawat Foundation (TPRF) has donated $20,000 to the Maryland-based Correctional Education Association (CEA) to underwrite the costs of telecasts on the Transforming Lives Network (TLN) that present Prem Rawat’s message of hope and the possibility of personal fulfillment to U.S. prison populations.

The grant will cover expenses associated with telecasting half-hour “Words of Peace” programs for one year, eventually making them available in Spanish. CEA sources say the TLN programs reach between 500,000 and 900,000 inmates nationwide, as well as about 300,000 correctional staff and workers. 

More than 98% of the prison population will return to their communities after serving their sentences. John Holt, who oversees the Words of Peace Prison Network in the U.S., said that Prem Rawat’s message can provide both those leaving prison and those who must remain with a new sense of hope and an opportunity for a life-long process of learning and self development.

Potomac Highlands Regional Jail, West Virginia

“Words of Peace,”which is now shown 20 times weekly on TLN, features excerpts from international addresses given by Prem Rawat on the possibility of finding fulfillment and peace within.

The series “Words of Peace” is also shown at correctional facilities in Africa, India, New Zealand, Mexico and South America. “We believe that ‘Words of Peace’ will help bring positive change to offenders and corrections workers,” said Anne Charles, project director for CEA’s Transforming Lives Network.

The response from prisoners to the programs has been enthusiastic. Writing to express his appreciation for “Words of Peace,” Cedric, a California prisoner, said, “It gave me some insight on how to look at life from a different perspective.” AJ, from another California prison, said, “I must say that Prem Rawat’s message truly resonates with my heart on a deep level.”

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About The Prem Rawat Foundation
The Prem Rawat Foundation was created in 2001 by Prem Rawat, known also as Maharaji, and has a dual mission of bringing his message of peace to people around the world and providing essential humanitarian aid to those in need. TPRF partners with other humanitarian organizations to bring food, water and rapid disaster relief where it is most needed. To learn more about TPRF’s humanitarian initiatives, Prem Rawat and his message of peace, please visit www.tprf.org.

About the Correctional Education Association
The Correctional Education Association, ffounded in 1945, is a nonprofit, professional association serving educators and administrators who provide services to students in correctional settings.

Contacts
The Prem Rawat Foundation
Linda Pascotto, President
http://tprf.org/

CEA
Steve Steurer, Executive Director
1-443-459-3080
http://www.ceanational.org

I’m not here to try to point out all the problems of the world, because there are too many. But, despite all the problems, all the things that are wrong, there are some things that are really, really good. Despite all the ugliness, there is something very, very beautiful. Despite all the mistakes, there is one thing that is perfect. And that perfection, that beauty, is in you.

There are people who like to point out all the problems, and in a way, I’m glad they do. But I think there should be some people who point out the good, the beautiful, because this life, despite all the problems, is beautiful. And sometimes, caught up in our troubles, our turmoil, our ideas, our concepts, we forget what we have been given.

Who are we? Are we just the sum of all the things that happen around us? Are we just people who wake up in the morning and realize our responsibilities, “I have to do this, I have to do this”? Or is there something more, something inside each human being that wants to smile, to be thankful, to feel gratitude, to feel joy?

I speak from my own experience. I have responsibilities. There are good days, and there are bad days. In the good days, I want to be happy. I want to feel peace. I want to feel connected to myself. Then there are the bad days. And even then, I just want to be happy.

Nobody can explain happiness. You know what it is. It isn’t just smiling or laughing or a time of day when you become happy. Happiness comes because you feel good. We think it is feeling happy about something—our child graduates from college; we win a lottery ticket; we get a promotion. We think our happiness is associated with all these things.

There is only one person who can make you happy, and it happens to be a person you know very little about. Strange. You know about your friends, other people—your associates, your colleagues—but very little about yourself, who you are. And you are that one person who can make you very happy.

I see people driving on the highways honking their horns, yelling, screaming. Somehow I get the feeling that they don’t really think life is important. They just want to get to where they’re going. I want you to take a moment and understand something—that your life is incredibly important.

You’re not a number. You’re not a name. You are more than the sum of all your goods and bads. So many people live in fear. But there is a place inside of you that cannot have fear, where you can feel freedom. When somebody has to tell me I am free, I’m not free.

We have our formulas. Happiness has nothing to do with formulas. “This plus this, minus this, equals happiness.” Either you feel happiness or you don’t. Either you feel joy in your life or you don’t.

What do you feel in your life? Because this life is the stage where peace will dance, where happiness will sing a song for you. This life holds promise after promise after promise, gift after gift after gift for you.

I have been watching spring coming. Ah, it is so beautiful to watch spring come. Right outside my office at home, there is a tree, and in the winter, it shed every leaf, down to just bare branches. And then slowly but surely, spring began to come, and not a day was wasted for those green shoots to start appearing. This I call dedication. This I call life. This I call “the grand miracle.” If that tree was human, it would say, “Why are we doing this? Winter will come again, and I will have to shed these leaves again. So forget this—just hibernate.”

It is not logic, but something that transcends logic. Love is not logical. These little shoots wait and wait. They can’t forecast the weather. They don’t think: “These two days are warm, but then the next two days it’s going to rain again, so just wait.” No. For them, it is: “Here it is. The warmth has come. The sun is shining. The temperature is right. Let’s go.” And as tender and delicate as those shoots are, even with two days of cold and rain, they keep on going. There is a drive that is more powerful. And this scene plays out for billions of trees every year.

Your spring has come. It is time to reach within and allow the hope for peace in your life to resurface, to see the good, to understand that good, to once again know and to once again say yes to what you have ignored for so long—you.

Prem Rawat

Grant to Montañas de Esperanza will feed 1,500 families for one month

Press release

Los Angeles, April 21, 2008 — The Prem Rawat Foundation has donated $26,000 to Montañas de Esperanza or Mountains of Hope (MdE), a local non-profit in northern Ecuador, to provide relief to flood victims in the coastal village of Santa Lucia. The grant will supply 32 tons of vital food supplies to feed 1,500 families (c.7,500 people) for one month.

Ecuador has been battered by torrential rains since early January, which have affected 40% of the country, destroying entire towns, crops and herds of livestock, particularly in the coastal areas. As many as 300,000 people have been uprooted from their homes, and over 14,000 are still living in shelters, including at least 5,000 children. Rescue efforts have been severely hampered by the widespread flooding of roads and disruption of transportation services.

MdE has designed a unique collaborative effort to supply nutritious food for the people of Santa Lucia, one of the most severely affected areas, with the cooperation of the Ecuadorian Red Cross, Regional Andean Farmers Cooperatives, the National Emergency Operations Center, community leaders and individual volunteers. This will be one of the largest deliveries of aid to flood victims by a non-government agency on the Ecuadorian coast to date.

Six hundred and thirty 100-pound bags of highly nutritional dried haba beans, barley rice, milled wheat and corn grown in the agricultural region of Pimampiro were repackaged at a school auditorium into 45-pound family kits by over 100 community volunteers this past weekend. Each completed family kit also includes raw organic sugar, ovo preserves (a vital fruit), and a nourishing cereal grain drink mix, along with recipes and spices for cooking the food. Other volunteers, coming from as far away as Quito, prepared meals for the helpers using some of the recipes so all could sample what they were helping to provide.

The Mayor of Pimampiro, Lic. Ivan Paredes, has arranged free use of an 18-wheel trailer truck to deliver the packages to Santa Lucia, some 17 hours away, a journey which begins tomorrow. Accompanying the food kits will be two tons of water bottles, clothes and personal sanitation kits from the Imbabura Red Cross, and school materials and art supplies funded by a grant from the Ibarra Rotary Club. On Wednesday, the food kits and emergency supplies will be delivered to 1,500 families, supplying each family with food for a month.

The distribution of the family kits is being managed by Mountains of Hope in collaboration with the Ecuadorian Red Cross, Ecuadorian Civil Defense, the Ecuadorian Ministry of Social and Economic Development, and local municipal and social service agencies.

Photographs by Jaime Alarcón Valencia

 

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The Prem Rawat Foundation was created in 2001 by Prem Rawat, known also as Maharaji, and has a dual mission of bringing his message of peace to people around the world and providing essential humanitarian aid to those in need. TPRF partners with other humanitarian organizations to bring food, water and rapid disaster relief where it is most needed.