Rubbing Buddha's Belly

In some cultures rubbing Buddha’s belly is believed to bring prosperity, wealth and good luck, in Pokhara, at our Street Kid’s Rehabilitation Center, we’re hoping to rub his belly to provide a year’s supply of food and an improved water supply for twelve children. That’s right, we’re throwing our first fundraising challenge at volunteers on July 26 and 27th. In just under one month we’re hoping to raise £1,500 GBP or $2,400 USD in order to provide the Street Children’s Rehabilitation Center with a year’s supply of food and improved water quality.

The challenge is to paddle hard across the Phewa Tal, an enormous lake nestled in the foothills of the Himalayas to a floating Buddha and be the first team to bring him safely back to shore. On Thursday July 26, team members will spend the morning constructing rafts in the garden behind Himelayan Encounters (our partner organization). They will use bamboo, plastic barrels and tires and hopefully they will come up with a design that both floats and holds together for the next day’s race. Then on Friday, the teams will carry their rafts down to the lake (approximately a fifteen minute walk) and paddle to a stranded Buddha and successfully return him to shore.

Any in country volunteers at that time are encouraged to join the teams and will need to pay a small fee to ensure that all of the funds raised go straight to our street children’s bellies. Anyone back home or anyone who does not like water (we will have lifejackets and safety kayakers) is encouraged to help fundraise for their fellow rafters and will be involved in the event as cheerleaders by the side of the lake and watch as the teams float or maybe swim in their effort to rescue Buddha. You can check out our fundraising page http://www.justgiving.com/GVI-Pokhara-Nepal. As more information is available it will be posted on this blog.

Thanks in advance for everyone’s hard work and generous giving.

Rubbing Buddha's Belly