Dream A World of Good, Part 3

This picture is from the path that leads to the boy's home village in Dhunche.

In April I wrote about a dream that lead to a life time connection with a family in Nepal, 'Dream A World of Good, Part 1,' and 'Dream A World of Good, Part 2.' Many of you wanted to know what happened to the boys that I gave rings to. It has been a very rough six or seven years since I handed out those rings. The boys didn't always know if they were going to be able to get through high school because of the unstable government and the numerous strikes and violence. This morning I received a letter from one of the boys that we have been helping through school

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Dear Aunt, Uncle, and our brothers.
How are you all? We all are doing well over here and we wish that you are doing well over there.
Finally! Monsoon is here... Farmers have already planted rice in their fields. Some years back, maybe about 6-7 yrs, we had a different Kathmandu... Big stretches of paddy fields gave life to this once beautiful shrine. But now there are only patches of those just giving those memories some fuel. We had a very dry spell this year and farmers are worried that they will not be able to yield anything at all.

My brother has left for Dhunche today to make his passport. He is currently taking classes on IELTS and working in one of our uncle’s travel and tours offices. He plays football in the morning with his friends and spends his whole day working and learning. I am also spending my days learning and working... I wake up at 4 in the morning go for a nice morning walk and come back to spend one hour on yoga. In the day, I go to the shop and help father in his work and sometimes I manage to go to our uncle’s office as well.

Last week, I visited a youth forum. It’s called Today’s Youth Asia and I was delighted to see all these young people from high school discussing many social issues. The youth forum is making efforts to bring changes to the society... they already have two TV programs and some more programs in the pipeline. I suggested to them to use 'inter phenomenon' like 'Twitter' and 'YouTube' and TV programs like 'iReport' in CNN. I saw a different side of the younger generation of Nepal totally different from the youths affiliated with some political organizations of the past. They were there not trying to revolt but to be a part of the change.

Yesterday, I managed to watch Barack Obama giving his speech and I was delighted to hear his message for the younger generation. We all are an active part of our society and each and everyone can be a part of the story of change. Every time we watch him giving his speech he makes us realize our dreams.

Aunt, after a long thinking and working I have decided to pursue my further education in Bangalore, India. I am choosing Biochemistry as my major and I hope I will be able to pursue my Masters in the United States. My brother is now working for his application to US, he is looking for colleges and I am here to help him with his application. I have already started working on my application in India and I hope I will be there after a month or two. My brother is really good in mathematics and I hope that he will be going for Business as his major subject. When I joined my high school I already knew that I would pursue further education in biochemistry so I am really excited.

We don’t have any words to describe how thankful we are to you. Our cricket team is not active at the moment... some members are in the US and some are busy with their own life but they still have those rings you made for us and I don’t know how many have passed the rings on to other young people. We all love you a lot and there are no words to describe how much we are thankful to you. We all love you all.
Love from Nepal

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I am so proud of these boys. They are full of hope and promise. As many set backs as they have had, they have always forged ahead. Both of the boys have taken an active part in their communities. If they couldn't go to school or work, they volunteered for the Red Cross and they contributed to the development of a new school in their home village.

I am planning on making the 'One Good Deed' rings again, so let me know if you would like to pass one on.

Peace!

Dream A World of Good, Part One

My Friend in His Shop in Kathmandu

A Shaman's Mask

A very gentle headman lived in a small village, high on the Himalayan mountainside. After his children were born, he began to have ambitions, not for himself, but for his children. The headman gave up his position and status, much to the surprise of the other villagers, to travel to Kathmandu. This was because, at that time, there was not a suitable school for his boys in his village, so he moved them to the large city and opened a very small shop.

His shop carried the most unusual carved statues, butter churns, tantric drums, phurbas, shaman masks, ceremonial shell horns, old coins and other odd objects. I had visited his shop on a few different occasions looking for the more unusual items to sell to my more unusual customers. When the former headman asked me if I would like to come to his home for dinner, I was honored.

His young wife and two boys were beautiful and charming. They offered me many types of spicy vegetable dishes and they began to tell me stories of their village. They told me ghost stories, which I always enjoy. They told me a story about the time that the King of Nepal came to their village. On the wall there was a picture of their father with the King. They read me lovely Hindu prayers. And then the boys explained how they had started a cricket team with other boys in the neighborhood. They said that they didn't have all of the equipment they needed, but the boys shared what they had. And that gave me an idea: Wouldn't it be fun if I could sponsor their cricket team!

The boys' father agreed to arrange for shirts to be made for all the boys in the neighborhood and I would pay for the shirts and the equipment that they needed. They would later send me a photo of all of the boys wearing T-shirts that said, "A World of Good, Inc."

That night after the dinner, I went to bed thinking about the lovely dinner and the boys and their cricket team. At about 3:00am I sat bolt upright in bed. I had had a very powerful dream about making rings for all of the boys on the cricket team. The next morning, I went to a silversmith that I work with and I had silver rings made for each of the boys on the team. The phrase "ONE GOOD DEED" was inscribed inside each ring. Just before I left to return to the United States, I gave the rings to the boys and I asked them to do one good deed for someone else and to pass the ring on to them giving the next person the same instruction. I flew home imagining these boys as my knights spreading chivalrous deeds around the Kingdom of Nepal.

*aworldofgood.com is undergoing a web host change and may be difficult to view for a while.