Humanitarian Projects
Feeding The Famine Stricken Children
Atula Shah from Nairobi wrote a letter to Bhante and Triple Gem Society requesting help to feed children in a famine stricken area of Mutumo, an area Bhante visited on one of his last trips to Nairobi. In her letter, Atula explained that “…there is a severe famine in...
Stopping Female Genital Mutilation
When I first heard about the Female Genital Mutilation practices in Africa from a friend, I was shocked and deeply saddened. I decided to learn more about this by visiting the villages, talking to medical professionals, social activists, and women and girls who have...
Three More Girls Receive Scholarships
In 2002 we started a scholarship program to help the most needy underprivileged girls to continue their education. In the last two years, we have given five university scholarships and seven college and high school scholarships to girls from Africa and Sri Lanka. This...
Breath of Life
Several years ago, in an interview with a doctor in a rural hospital in Cameroon, I learned how he does all surgical operations under local anesthesia. He explained how many deaths occur simply because of the lack of available oxygen to assist the patients' recovery....
Sixty-Two Bed Home for Street Children in Rwanda
A home for the youngest victims of genocide in Rwanda. Accepting an invitation from individuals conducting humanitarian projects in Rwanda, I spent three days in the capitol, Kigali, visiting many hospitals, rehabilitation centers, Aids orphanages, and homeless...
Welfare Project in South Africa
Bhante visits a remote village in Kenya where many children have lost their parents to AIDS. In this age of disposable technology, we often take for granted the high tech equipment that makes our lives so much easier. In many parts of Africa, people do not count on...
Playground and Solar Power for the Paramaduwa School
Students gathering in the playground to greet Bhante. To reach the small school, we traveled two hours by car from the city of Anuradhapura. Then we traveled another three kilometers on an unpaved dusty road. At first sight, it didn't look like much at all. If you did...
Helping the Disabled in Kenya
Distributing prosthetic limbs to children in Kenya. In my travels to rural Kenya, I participated in donating more wheelchairs, crutches, and prosthetic limbs to children in outlying villages. I also sponsored additional cataract operations as part of our ongoing...
New Uniforms for One Hundred Fifty Orphaned Girls
For eighteen years, the Sri Lankan government fought a long and difficult war with a separatist group called the Tamil Tigers. By the time the government negotiated a cease-fire with the separatists in 2001, about seven thousand people had lost their lives. Although...
Scholarships For Girls
In 1995, a scholarship program founded by Bhante Wimala successfully assisted fifty boys and girls in furthering their education. In a recent phone conversation, Bhante revealed what compelled him to start a scholarship project specifically for girls. "I quite often...
Simple Deeds That Can Changes Lives
Bhante Wimala presenting two sewing machines to two young women who grew up in the orphanage. They were leaving the orphanage to live with their relatives. The girls had no other possessions. These sewing machines will be their only possession that will help them to...
Gift of Sight – Gift of Light
Of the many projects completed in 2002, one of the most satisfying was the Cataract Eye Operations Project in East Africa. While in Nairobi over a year ago, I spoke with several physicians and learned of the seriousness of the eye problems in Africa. In fact,...
Donating a Fundus Camera
As part of our ongoing contributions to the eye care specialists at the Lions Sightfirst Hospital in Nairobi, we were able to donate a fundus camera this Fall. Prior to our donation, there were only three of these specialized machines in all of Kenya. A fundus camera...
Sweet Dreams
Bhante is joined by the Sri Lankan High Commissioner to Nairobi while donating mattresses to orphans. On my November 2003 trip to Africa, one of the employees of the Sri Lankan Embassy approached me with a concern. She told me that she had visited an orphanage on the...
Malaria Prevention Project
Malaria is a life-threatening illness transmitted from one person to another through the bite of the female Anopheles mosquito. It is one of the greatest public health challenges preventing economic development in the poorest countries of the world. Although more than...