Cleveland Browns Fans Support Orphans

Cleveland, May 1 -- The Browns Backers of Sri Lanka is a newly formed official Worldwide Browns Backers chapter located in Colombo. It's mission is to welcome all Cleveland Browns (NFL) fans and to help raise money to help children who have been separated from their families.

Paul Bissler (right) is a Northeastern Ohio transplant who decided to volunteer his services with Food For Life Global to do food relief in the tsunami affected areas. As it turned out, the need for food relief has largely subsided in most areas, so he decided to focus on an orphanage in Colombo - Gokulam, Bhaktivedanta Children's Home. Paul has been a Browns fan all his life and was inspired by Scott Lacy who was able to raise enough money a couple of years ago to build a school in Mali West Africa as the acting president of the Bougouni Browns Backers. Hopefully the fund raising efforts of this chapter will help the children here and at the same time develop a few Browns fans of their own! Paul's dad, Fred Bissler, along with other fans are now selling T-shirts to help the children. All proceeds go to support the work of Gokulam. Order your t-shirt today!

Where it All Began

Washington DC, April 13 -- Food for Life volunteers continue to serve the needs of the disadvantaged throughout the world through various projects initiated and supported by Food for Life Global.

Tens of thousands of pilgrims receiving lunch on the grounds of Mayapura Dham in West Bengal, India.

Since our last Newsletter in February, I traveled to India to observe the oldest Food for Life project in the world. The place where it all began -- Mayapura, West Bengal. It was in this place that Srila Prabhupada, the founder of ISKCON, asked his students to make sure that no one within a ten mile radius of the temple go hungry. Our Food for Life project in Mayapur continues to this day, serving thousands daily. In fact a quick calculation reveals that this program alone has served more than 20 million meals to the needy in the last 30 years!

Temple manager, Sankarshan Nitai tell us that he is totally dedicated to fulfilling the founder's dream that no one within ten miles go hungry. Complimenting the various food distribution programs going on around Mayapur, Food for Life started a new National school that provides free meals and education to local disadvantaged children. To learn more...

Considered a legend in Food for Life circles, Maha Sringha has relocated to the Mayapur area from his native Poland to help Sankarshan make the Mayapura area hungerless.

Single handedly, Maha cooks and serves hot rice, lentils and vegetables to a thousand villagers daily, along with free medical care, singing and a genuine smile! "God provides me everything and I give everything I have to these people," he told me. Indeed, Maha's selflessness and dedication are unparalleled. He has single handedly cooked and served millions of people during his career.

Maha Sringha preparing lunch for a village	Children wait patiently for their Food for Life lunch feast

Simbashare Working on New Documentary

Colombo, March 20 (By FFL correspondent, Sara Spears) -- Simba Share, Inc. (www.simbashare.org) a not-for-profit new media service based in Dallas, Texas, has begun creating a documentary for Gokulam, titled ‘AMMA,’ which means mother in the Tamil language. The 45 minute documentary is being sponsored by Food for Life Global and will focus on the motherly love Nandarani Devi, Gokulam's Director, gives the children, the main quality that sets Gokulam apart from other orphanages. Simba Share’s co-founder, Jimmy Cook (pictured right), who worked as an innovative designer in New York for 30 years, came to Colombo as a FFL volunteer to produce the movie. FFL Global has high hopes that the finished product will create worldwide support for Gokulam.

“The children themselves tell the story,” Jimmy said after visiting Gokulam, “And Nandarani, what an amazing lady!”

Jimmy and his crew worked for days to get the right shots, interviewing Nandarani and catching the children at play. He has edited a six minute trailer as an overview to show interested donors. Jimmy’s Simba Share partner, Andrea ("Sid") Curtis (left), arrived in Colombo on March 20 to assist in the editing of the film. Sid is an experienced theater designer and creative director and has produced all of Gokulam's new print materials.

Both Jimmy and Sid have brought immense talent to the Gokulam project, and with their expertise and contacts, we are confident the documentary will help raise funds and awareness for this worthy cause.

Cover of New Documentary

I wish to SUPPORT the Gokulam Documentary Project! Here is my donation: (All donations are tax deductible)

Annie's Homegrown Saves the Day!

(FFL Correspondent, Sara Spears) -- FFL volunteers based in Colombo were craving some food from home, and decided to write to their favorite organic pasta company, Annie’s Homegrown (www.annies.com). Colleen, JenRenee and Sara told Annie’s what they were doing in Sri Lanka, and asked if the company could send a few boxes their way.

And send food they did! Annie’s mailed a huge package with a variety of the volunteers’ favorites, as well as some new products for them to try.

As if we didn’t love Annie’s already, this really made our day. Annie’s Homegrown is a leader in corporate responsibility, both environmentally and charitably.

Update on COTTAGE

Colombo, April 30 -- Food for Life's COTTAGE business is off and running. The first batch of artwork from the Gokulam children has been sent to the printers and made into beautiful boxed sets of gift cards.

Food for Life Global is now making arrangements to sell the cards in gift shops and bookstores throughout the US. Our very first customer will be As Kindred Spirits, located in Washington DC. Profits will go towards supporting Gokulam - Bhaktivedanta Children's Home. We are currently looking for distributors throughout the US and Europe. To learn more about COTTAGE or to order your set, visit: www.cottageyouth.org

New Mid-day Meal Program for Tsunami-affected Schools

School children receiving their mid-day lunch from Food for Life volunteers.

Sri Lanka, April 5 -- As reported in our last Newsletter, FFL in Sri Lanka has now launched a new mid-day meal program at the Sivaguru Vidyalayam Valvettithurai (V.V.T.) school. The School Principal, Mr. T. Thavendraraja comments, "Our school was completely damaged by the tsunami on 26th December 2004 and due to this our children are attending classes in the temple hall, under trees and at one of the town hall buildings. Most of the children in this area are poor and these children come to school without breakfast and as they are hungry, they will not be able to concentrate on their studies. Fortunately, Hare Krishna Food for Life is is now providing a midday meal to our school children and this is very beneficial for the attendance of the children and their studies."

FFL Sri Lanka Director, Mahakarta Das explains that there is a constant request for midday meal from many schools in the tsunami affected areas, specially from Point Pedro area, which is close to V.V.T. "There are 3 schools with poor children," he informs us. "We will continue this service as long as we have sufficient funds."

Children's Home Needs Volunteers

Gokulam - Bhaktivedanta Children's Home is offering volunteer opportunities, for four-week periods, to experienced professionals in the following fields:

• Childcare Professionals
• English Teaching Professionals

Interested people need to fill out the Volunteer application form on the Food for Life Global web site and indicate your interest in this particular service. Applicants will be considered based on their experience and availability. Those chosen for the four-week assignments will be provided accommodation and food while volunteering.

FFL Action Shots

	Vegetables are added and stirred into the rice and bean stew and cooked in huge pots on fire wood.
Mahasringha Das (right) wearing traditional village clothing, personally serves lunch after cooking.
Eager and happy children of the Mayapur area where Mahasringha operates his Food for Life program.	Lunch time in the village.
Huge "bath tubs" filled with kichuri (rice and bean stew) were used to keep the meal hot before serving.	Kishori Priya Turner, my 7 year old daughter serving villagers in India.

New Service in Hyderabad

Hyderabad, March 22 -- Food for Life has started distributing sanctified vegetarian lunches at a Juvenile home, in addition to its existing services to a Leprosy colony. The home shelters 100 homeless children of age 7-15 years old.

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(Right) Young boys at the home enjoying lunch

More FFL Action Shots

Child receiving meal in Mayapur, India from FFL volunteers.	Preparing the chili and ginger for the kitchuri (rice & vegetable stew)
Some of the many tsunami orphans now residing at Gokulam - Bhaktivedanta Children's Home. Many of these children require sponsors. If you are interested in sponsoring a child, go to http://www.gokulam.org/sponsorachild.html
	Food for Life, Vrindavan in India run many welfare projects, including a cow protection service called "Care for Cows," where nearly 100 cows are protected and cared for. Visit their website at http://www.careforcows.org/

FFL Volunteer Shares her Experience

Deidre Grafel at the Food for Life Base camp in Matara, Sri Lanka.

Scottsdale, Arizona, USA, April 13 -- Ms. Deidre Grafel, the Chandler-Gilbert Community College information technology professor spent 10 days in Sri Lanka volunteering with the Vegetarian Food Relief Organization in coordination with the Sri Lankan government. She helped prepare, cook, package and deliver meals for more than 8,000 people during the January trip.

"It was my obligation as a human being to extend myself compassionately to the suffering of both the people and animals devastated by the tsunami," she said. "There is an enormous amount of work needed to help the victims rebuild their lives and homes."

Grafel handed out items she bought in the United States, such as batteries, flashlights, toiletries, books and toys.

"It’s so overwhelming over there," she said. "It’s utter destruction. It was our duty to show strength for them."

Originally her plan was to hand the items out and explore the area before she received a call from Food For Life, the world’s largest vegetarian organization, a day before the trip. She helped alongside two Poles, four Russians, an Australian, a Slovenian and a Croatian...Read full article.

NEW FFL World Hunger Map

Food for Life Global recently published the FFL World Hunger Map. The map is printed on full color gloss photo paper and will make an excellent display in any temple, church, home, or office. The map depicts all the major regions of the world suffering from hunger and is superimposed with locations of FFL projects. Bordering the 36x24 inch map are pictures of FFL recipients, including shots from the recent tsunami relief program.

Data from the map is based on the official World Food Programme hunger map (www.wfp.org) and includes interesting facts and figures. Did you know that 864 million people in the world today are hungry or malnourished? Even more alarming, every minute of the day, 11 children under the age of 5 die from hunger-related diseases!

Our hope is to raise awareness of this major world issue. The more people are conscious of this problem, the better it will be for those suffering. Food for Life strongly believes that a vegetarian diet is a step in the right direction to reducing world hunger.

The FFL World Hunger Map is available for $10 each (plus shipping). Proceeds will go towards supporting FFL projects around the world. Printing is limited, so order today!

ADVOCACY Package (Updated Package)

Please help get the word out! Print these documents and distribute far and wide in your area.

• New FFL Brochure (Print and distribute)
• New FFL Donor Flyer (Print and post in your local restaurant)
• Press Releases (Send out a press release to your local media)
  • Bhaktivedanta Children's Home - the best in Sri Lanka
  • Malnutrition - killing 11 children under 5 years every minute
  • Food for Life Tsunami Relief
• COTTAGE - Creative Entrepreneurship for Disadvantaged Children
• FACT SHEET - Gokulam (Bhaktivedanta Children's Home)
• FACT SHEET - Food for Life Global
• Letters to the Editor (Write to your local newspaper)
• Web Site or Blog Announcement (Tell people about FFL on blogs and community websites)
• Creative Ways to Help (Tips and ideas for advocacy)
• Email Signature (Add this signature to all your email message)
• For webmasters (Place one of these banners on your web site with a link to our home page (www.ffl.org).

Go back to TOP

Food for Life in the News

• UK, East African philanthropists for Easter cycling
• FFL Volunteer Shares her Experience
• Polish Humanitarian meets Health Minister
• Children collect toys for tsunami orphans
• ISKCON serves 250,000 freshly cooked meals to survivors
• Hungarian PM's daughter here
• Opening hearts, wallets for disaster relief funds

APPEAL: Volunteer Coordinator Needed

Food for Life Global continues to receive applications from volunteers wishing to assist FFL in its worldwide projects. We desperately need the expert help of an experienced Volunteer Coordinator. The ideal person needs to have the following qualifications:

• Familiarity with Food for Life projects
• Vegetarian or vegan
• Enthusiastic, determined and straight-forward in dealings
• Able to communicate with a wide range of personality types
• Can work virtually as well as on-site when needed
• Good team player
• Ability to "Rally the troops" and inspire people

If you or someone you know possess these traits, please write to us with references.

Gokulam - Bhaktivedanta Children's Home
607A, Negombo Road
Mabola
Wattala
Tel: (+ 94) 11 294-8398
www.gokulam.org

email: FFL Sri Lanka Office
Paul Turner US Cell: (+1) 571 277-2329
Office phone: (+94) 11 243-3325
fax: (+94) 11 247-1099

Volunteering Offshore

Food for Life is encouraging people to give their time in their local area to help raise awareness of FFL's activities and thus raise much needed money. Many students have emailed to ask if they can organize a fundraising drive at their campus. The answer is a resounding "Yes." Please help in whatever way you can, whether it is selling t-shirts, approaching your local businesses, or writing an article. We just ask that you keep Food for Life Global informed of all your activities.

Donations by Check

Send to:
Food for Life Global - Emergency Relief Fund
PO Box 59037 
Potomac, MD 20859, USA 

All donations are tax deductible. Food for Life Tax ID: 52-195-2901

Where You Can Donate

JustGive and Network for Good, both of which are prominently displaying Food for Life on their hunger relief pages and of course at the FFL web site using PayPal. (Note: PayPal does extract a very small percentage of the donated money for transaction fees. Typically $3 for a $100 donation).

Thank you for your friendship.

On behalf of all the Food for Life volunteers, we hope this meets you in the best of health and happiness.

Paul Turner
Director

The Food for Life Global Friends Newsletter is distributed to more than 20,000 vegans and vegetarians worldwide.

(c) 2005 Food for Life Global - Using text or pictures contained within this newsletter without the expressed permission of Food for Life Global is illegal.

Paul Rodney Turner
(Priya)
Food for Life Global
PO Box 59037 
Potomac, MD 20859, USA 
phone: (301) 987-5883
www.ffl.org