Finally, we arrived at the Makuyu School in the district of Maragwa. We had traveled there to distribute gifts and uniforms to some of the students who had earned excellent grades on their exams, but our journey to the school had not been an easy one. We traveled about two miles on a muddy dirt…

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 Mutumo where you visited us last…

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 undergone FGM. I also met those who perform female circumcision in…

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 year we have been able to brighten up the future of…

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. This discussion made me realize that this problem is common…

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 shelters in the surrounding towns and villages.  The 1994 genocide of close to one million people in this tiny country has created severs and long-standing problems. It has…

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 these luxuries. This year I was invited to visit Durban, South Africa by a South African gentlemen who lives in Key West, Florida,…

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 involvement with the rural eye clinics. I was delighted that one of our main sponsors, Mr. Pejuta and his girlfriend, Susan, decided to…