Gaden Relief Projects Helping Tibetans preserve their unique culture. Minutes

Zadoh Committee Meeting – Vancouver
February 12, 2003

Location: at Marianne Rev's
Present: Evan, Deborah, Didi, Marianne, Helen, Sharon

1) Fundraiser

We all agreed that it would be fun to have a dinner/dance/silent auction.

Evan will contact John Thompson to see if he can play for us. Evan will contact Rinpoche to see if May 3 would work as the night for the event. Didi's friend has offered to play his flute at the event.

Deborah will contact St James to see if it is available as a venue for the event. Sharon will contact Mt Pleasant Community Centre to see if it is available. Evan will contact Patricia re a hall she knows to see if it is available.

Helen and Evan will work together on the silent auction.

It was decided that there will be no alcohol at the event. There will be Perrier and other soft drinks for sale at the event Dawn has volunteered to be in charge of the cooking. Didi will contact Drolma to see if the Tibetan women would like to cook some of the food for the event (momo's, curries and rice). We will ask people to volunteer to bring salads and deserts for the event.

We will have some tables for selling goods at the event, Didi will have a table.

Admission will be between $15-25 to be determined once we know what our costs will be.

2) Rinpoche's Trip to Tibet

Rinpoche will stay for 6 weeks all of July and two weeks of August. Robbie, Candace and Ken will stay for 2-3 weeks.

3) Medicine for Tibet (list from Robbie and Candace)

Marianne told us what the various medications were for. Is it time to look at ways of increasing the general hygiene of the people? General discussion about taking medicine to Tibet which is not available in an ongoing way, how are we helping by doing this? Question: are any meds being considered for sexually transmitted disease? How are we affecting sustainable health care? Question: what are the doctors planning in the way of ongoing assessment and evaluation? (We know they are doing things about this - we are wondering what.)

Evan will ask Rinpoche if he can meet with us when he is here in May to talk about all of this. Marianne will talk to Candace.

4) Books

Evan was able to order Where There Are No Doctors in Tibetan; they are being sent here from Dharamasala.

Marianne has a book from the library about aide to developing countries which presents the benefits and dangers. The committee is looking at this book.

Deborah and Evan also have a book about helping in developing countries which the committee is looking at.

5) ROKPA Doctor Training Project

Deborah reported that the Chinese have decided that Tibetan young people need to take four years training in either Shining or Lhasa to become doctors so they need sponsors to do this. We would like to talk to Rinpoche about this and are prepared to find a group to sponsor one or two the these young people from the Zadoh region.

6) Great News About the Gaywa Project

Didi told us about her experience while selling Dharma goods in Chinatown. On her first day a Chinese woman came to her booth and asked her about Tibet. This woman has a very deep connection with Tibet and a strong desire to help the people of Tibet. When Didi told her about the Gaywa Project the woman said she wanted to help and offered twenty thousand dollars to support Didi's project. Didi was overjoyed. They have since spent time together and it turns out that the woman is part of a community of people who would like to help. (Five of the community members have agreed to sponsor orphan children in the region.) Four of the core members of this group will join Didi in a trip to Tibet this June and they will work for the Gaywa Project while there. The community are involved here helping raise money for the journey (in addition to the original offer of $20,000). They come together in the practice of karate, many of them Black Belters. We are all very grateful for this enthusiastic offering to the people of Tibet.