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This sounds like a fun event to be a part of, Danny Bunyavong has been in the Twin Cities MN for a week now rehearsing for the Macy’s Glamorama fashion shows. This charity event will benefit Children’s Cancer Research Fund, and it’s this Friday, August 14, 2009 at 8 PM. The guest performers will be Ne-Yo, Kristinia DeBarge, and the New Standards. Danny will be a part of the fashion shows, taking the catwalk stage as one of the runway models and the confirmed designers that will be Marc Jacobs, Jean Paul Gaultier, Sonia Rykiel, Just Cavalli, Sportmax, Maxmara and CNC Costume National. I know I can’t be there, but would love to watch the program on TV, I heard that it’ll be aired in the Twin Cities.
Description of the event,
A fashion and entertainment extravaganza that fuses famed musical headliners with the latest in fashion couture. Style, music, art and cuisine come together for this unique evening featuring the fusion of colors, patterns, textures, shapes and trends. City sophisticate, punk princess and the classic cowboy harmoniously come together for a stylishly chic scene.
I want to thank TENPA, at Digital Tibetan Buddhist Altar for posting an intro to my blog; it’s such an honor for me. I’m learning about Buddhism as I’m writing, if there’s any misconception of my understanding of Buddhism, please do advice.
I’ve been following Darly’s postings on her elephant hunt, she is so lucky to have lived in Rotterdam, the Netherlands and able to see the elephant parade while some of us could only see it in photos. I love elephant and collect anything that’s related to elephant.
My first counter with real live elephants was when I attended elementary school in Thailand, we had school event called Vanh Dek, or children’s day and we had a soccer game with the baby elephant, and I’m not sure who won, us or the baby elephant, but one thing for sure, the baby elephant can really kick the soccer ball. I also sat on the mommy elephant’s trunk; she formed it into a U shape. I was about 8 years old at the time.
Elephant Parade Rotterdam takes place from September 1 until November 17 2007. It is an initiative of Marc and Mike Spits (father and son), it’s a worldwide event created to make people aware of the fact that in Asia elephants are an endangered species, which supports the elephant through the sale and auction of Elephant Parade products, and create awareness for elephants through the Elephant Parade. Its mission is to help save the elephants; a world without elephants is unimaginable but can become reality.
This is an interesting article from my local newspaper.
Nonprofit raises money to support education centers in remote, poverty-stricken areas of Laos.
By Jennifer Menster, record staff writer
Dori Shimoda went to northern Laos with intentions of backpacking through remote villages. He came back from his December 1999 trip with a newly discovered life project.
Out of Shimoda’s desire and passion to help children, Give Children a Choice was up and running by 2002. The nonprofit raises money to build preschools in poverty-stricken areas in Laos.
Give Children A Choice has completed 15 preschools since 2003. The preschools have one to three classrooms and bathrooms. The nonprofit also provides teachers’ salaries, where necessary, and equipment, such as desks, cabinets, books, playground equipment and mats for napping. All preschool tuition is free.
The nonprofit also launched a hygiene and immunization program in 2006, believing that healthier children are better learners, says Debbie Davis, executive director of Giving Children A Choice. The organization provides health fairs as part of the preschool opening, offering health and hygiene education, free medical checkups and childhood vaccinations.
“We do this because we feel every child deserves an opportunity,” Davis said. “Many wouldn’t have that opportunity if we didn’t help out.”
The Organization’s next project is building a preschool for a Hmong village called Na Nan Village. There are approximately 75 preschool-aged children in the village. Donations help make the organization possible. To learn more or make a donation, visit givechildrenachoice.org
It’s commonly understood that once a person is buried, it is considered a final resting place for most culture, but not for the Thai and Lao culture as I’ve heard and understood. As for this story told by Pah Un, Wat Don Cemetery is located in Sathon district in Bangkok, Thailand. It’s well known in the area, and the graveyard contains burial remains of people of Chinese heritage. It is mainly for those that pass away and have no relatives to come and claim their bodies, such as those that die of a sudden death like a car accident or any type of accident, which is considered ‘Tai Hong’, and their bodies would be buried here temporary until being dug back up again to be cleaned, and performed a final ceremony of cremation, those spirits would then consider to be rested in peace. I think it’s a bit shocking to the Westerners, but very common practice in the Southeast Asia region.
This was a story told by Pah Un…
I remember seeing something similar to this on TV, where they would take skeletons, which I remember vividly, was seeing the skull and other parts and washed it in an aluminum basin, very similar to washing vegetables, or clothing, but how they actually are doing it, I’ve never seen. I wanted to be a part of it, probably would get all kinds of ‘Boun’ (charity), as they promised in their poster, at the moment I’m just full of greed for ‘Boun’.
After putting some thoughts into it, I called and asked my friends to join me for such a noble events, to go and clean, clear a cemetery. I tried to explain the process to them as best I could without scaring them. I asked, asked, and asked; surprisingly none would volunteer to go with me. The majority would say that they are afraid of ghost, afraid that the image might stay in their mind, afraid that they wouldn’t be able to go to sleep, and even asked if I’m not afraid. I told them that there’s nothing to be afraid of because the events will take place during the daytime, but bottom line, they all told me ‘If you’re not afraid, then go by yourself!’
I think community service is a great way to give back to our local community. People become involved in community service for a range of reasons, for some, serving community is altruistic act, for others it is a punishment. I’m going to talk about the altruistic act only because I think it’s noble for someone to give up their time and energy for the benefits of others.
I found an interesting article in Koosang Koosom Magazine, written in Thai language by Pah Un, which she admitted that she likes to do charity work, not that she is a good person, but deep down inside, it’s mainly for her own selfish reasons. I personally think that her reasons were a bit odd, but I guess not odd among the Thai community. She might not think that she is a good person because of her selfish motives, doing something to get things in return, but I think its all how you look at it, from my personal point of view, I think she is a good person in the Thai community, and there should be more like her. Most of us do charity work expecting things in return, for some of us that claimed that we don’t want anything in return, I think we still want to see the happiness and joy from those that we helped, what we received back is enough reward for us to continue to do good deed.
Pah Un did many good deeds for the Thai Community, but she always prayed that her good deed will reward ‘her’, either in this life or next life. She would buy a casket to donate every month hoping that she wouldn’t be involved in any type of accident, she’s not afraid to die in a car accident or anything along that line, but afraid to be handicapped. She donates her blood every 3 months, and is an organ donor hoping that she will not have any major illness or disease, because if she does then they can’t use her organ. She donates money to buy books for less fortunate children hoping that she will always have good memory, and that she will not have Alzheimer’s disease at an older age. The question that she gets most from people was ‘Have you seen any result yet?’, and her replied was ‘I can’t tell you yet because life is a long journey, but at least the reward is in my heart, I get to see many good things in life, even if I’m not rich, but at least I’m not poor either.’ I personally think that she has an odd way of looking at things, but that’s not important, the most important thing is the good deeds that she is doing for others.
Then one day, she saw a sign from a Thae Jewh of Thailand Foundation, inviting anyone to help with a charitable event in cleaning and clearing an old cemetery. As soon as she saw that sign, a thought went through her head and she said, ‘I like to do charity work and I’ve done most that you can think of, but never done anything like this before, I’m curious as to how they clean and clear the cemetery’, so she signed up for the event.
Her adventure was very interesting; I would have gone with her if she asked me to join her. I’ll continue with Part II, describing the event in detail, please come back and read ‘Cleaning Wat Don Cemetery part II.’
Continued at Cleaning Wat Don Cemetery Part II
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