20 years of altruism in action
November 26 2020
20 years of altruism in action. 270,000 people helped each year. Ten of thousands of supporters. Karuna is a family of people united and committed for 20 years to build a more altruistic world...
Laxmi is a bright teenager and a shining example of why Karuna-Shechen focuses on improving education in the Himalayas. Sitting at a wobbly desk in a makeshift building that wasn’t secure enough to keep out the wind or rain, Laxmi was concerned. She dreamed of becoming a nurse, of saving lives and helping others in her community. But with the conditions of the temporary community school that had been erected after the earthquakes in Nepal in 2015, she found it difficult, if not impossible, to study and learn.
To invest in Laxmi’s future — and that of the other seventy-two children in the community — Karuna-Shechen constructed a new building with classrooms, toilets, and access to safe, reliable drinking water. We also provided the school with supplies and uniforms, and an additional teacher.
“I’m so happy,” Laxmi told us. “Education will help me and my community have a better future.”
It is this level of opportunity that Karuna-Shechen works to provide in India and Nepal, where hurdles to quality education are often at the root of social injustice and low quality of life. We have seen firsthand that when people are prevented from pursuing their potential, they cannot contribute fully to their communities or accomplish what they could have, had they received access to even basic opportunities.
In India and Nepal, where the drop-out rate for girls is disproportionately high, Karuna-Shechen actively works to open doors for girls by enforcing a fair girl/boy ratio in the schools we support. Providing access is just the beginning — we also address related issues such as social taboos and access to feminine hygiene products to help keep girls in school throughout their teenage years.
By teaching equality, we are passing on to future generations the idea that every child has the same rights and opportunities to build a future for him/herself.
Through our education programs, Karuna-Shechen also extends equality to adult women who missed out on the opportunity to learn in their youth. Many women, particularly in remote areas, dropped out of school before they even learned to read or write. In fact, out of 796 million illiterate people in the world, two thirds are women — and lack of education is a huge hurdle to achieving their potential.
We provide free literacy classes to promote women’s empowerment. Some of the women we teach are in their 50’s, 60’s, and beyond, and they are learning to write their name for the first time! Learning to read and write gives women more autonomy and enables them to act as role models for new generations. Plus, children of educated women are more likely to stay in school themselves — yet another investment in the future!
Our education programs are improving quality — and increasing equality — in India and Nepal. By involving the community, opening doors for girls, and empowering women to read and write, we’re investing in the future.
Together, let’s empower our education, our future. Help teach a woman to read, provide training, or support a teacher’s salary!
November 26 2020
20 years of altruism in action. 270,000 people helped each year. Ten of thousands of supporters. Karuna is a family of people united and committed for 20 years to build a more altruistic world...
November 20 2020
“One of the essential components of happiness can be summed up in three words: altruism, love and compassion. How can we find happiness for ourselves when those around us are constantly suffering? M...
November 13 2020
Back in pictures on Action for Karuna and its week of solidarity held from November 2 to 8. 65 teams and project leaders mobilized to bring altruism to life and raise funds, supported by more than 1 ...
November 9 2020
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October 28 2020
“Karuna-Shechen breaks taboos on what rural women can and cannot do, thus changing attitudes. As Dalai Lama often points out, we more than ever need empathy, altruism and compassion: that is why it ...