Hi All, Sadhvi Shilapiji is in town and would like to meet with volunteers of different non-profit organizations here. It will give all of us yet another opportunity to interact with someone who has dedicated her life to service. Bhupen Mehta (copied here) of ICA has helped coordinate this. It is planned for tomorrow, July 8th, Thursday at Sarita Jain's home from 8 to 9 PM. The address is 630 Covington Road, Los Altos. The host phone 650-949-1049. Please RSVP to Bhupen Mehta for meeting Shilapiji. It is short notice, but I hope many of you can make it. Please forward to your respective lists. Scholar, leader, humanitarian, educator -- these are all suitable epithets for this soon-to-be PhD Jain nun, though not one of them alone captures the depth of her intellect, charm, eloquence, warmth, humility, or down-to-earth openness. While some may see contradictions between her spiritual devotion and hands-on, high-tech competence, it is really more a matter of versatility for this thoughtful, competent woman. Shilapiji's greatest pillar of strength is her highly revered teacher, Acharya Chandanaji, the first woman in the 2500 year Jain tradition to be granted the Acharya title. Thirty years ago, Chandanaji founded a humanitarian group called Veerayatan, which runs an important ophthalmology hospital in Bihar that has performed over 100,000 sight-restoring surgeries to indigent patients, free-of-charge. It also runs orthopedic clinics, prosthetic-fitting camps, dispensaries, and mobile health units for the underprivileged of Bihar, India's poorest, most lawless state. Following the devastating Kutch earthquake in January of 2001, Acharya Chandanaji -- often called the 'Mother Teresa of North India' -- dispatched Shilapiji to Gujarat to survey the situation and lead Veerayatan's participation in the relief effort. Finding that many other Indian and international NGO's were dealing with housing, food, water, clothing, and medical issues, Veerayatan aimed its energies at helping to educate the thousands of school children whose schools had been destroyed in the quake, and has now become an eminent part of the Kutch development. More on Veerayatan at http://www.veerayatan.org/ Dear Anand, It was extremely soothing for me to talk to you all on the phone in New Jersey. I was very happy to know that young people of such amazing talents are spending their time and energy for bringing benefits to the larger humanity. Veerayatan would love to get associated with the Asha Foundation, and I'm very confident that these two organizations working together can bring wonderful results. You could send any of your representatives to our Kutch campus (where we are doing the rehabilitation project for the earthquake-affected children and adults) at any time. If you let me know in advance, then I will make all of the necessary arrangements, and ensure that the representative is able to get all of the required information. Following is the breakdown of the cost of education per child, per year. It is about $150.USD, which is about Rupees 7,000. per year. This budget allows for the following: 1. tuition fees per annum Rs.1,800 - 2. books and stationary Rs.1,200 - 3. uniforms (3 sets) Rs. 600 - 4. extracurricular activities and sports Rs.1,200 - 5. mid-day meal Rs.1,200 - 6. transporation (provided free or subsidized) Rs.1,000. - TOTAL.......................................................Rs.7,000.- Should you need any other information regarding the breakdown of the budget, please feel free to contact us again. We would be more than happy to provide you with any additional information. With warm wishes, Sadhvi Shilapiji Dear Anand, Just for your information, we have about 1,000 children enrolled with us. All of these children need support for continuing their education. I am very confident that Asha will be able to adopt many of these children to ensure that they progress towards a better future. Thank you for your cooperation and support. Warm wishes, Sadhvi Shilapiji