This from Bhikkhu Bodhi and our other friends at Buddhist Global Relief:

Dear Friend and Benefactor,

Mother’s Day is fast approaching, and we would like to propose a simple and truly compassionate way for you to honor the woman who brought you into this world — and, indeed, to honor all women.

Buddhist Global Relief has recently decided to support a visionary project dedicated to promoting education for children – especially young girls – in some of the most remote and impoverished villages of Afghanistan and Pakistan.

We invite you to join us in supporting this inspiring and highly successful project. By making a donation to BGR on behalf of your mother, you will not only express your love and gratitude for her, but also help to transform a generation of young lives in a region where education and hope are in short supply.

We think it’s the perfect Mother’s Day gift – a gift whose impact will continue to be felt long after Mother’s Day has passed. We have provided a PDF e-card so you can inform your mother or loved one of your gift.

For our on-the-ground partner in this region, BGR has chosen the Central Asia Institute (CAI), a remarkable organization led by a remarkable man, Greg Mortenson. In 1993, moved by the kindness of the villagers he met while recovering from a failed attempt to climb Pakistan’s K2, the world’s second highest mountain, Mortenson vowed to return and build a school. Since then, he and the CAI have built more than 130 schools and enrolled more than 50,000 students, including 30,000 girls. Mortenson has written about his work in the New York Times bestseller, Three Cups of Tea, and its sequel, Stones for Schools.

CAI’s guiding principle – to rely on local partnerships to accomplish their mission – is an easy fit with BGR’s. The key to their success has been to ensure that their projects are initiated, implemented, and managed by local communities. By building schools, they are building peace, building friendships across cultures, building hopes for a brighter future on both sides of the world.

Having carefully examined the wonderful work of the Central Asia Institute, BGR has decided to support the Institute’s efforts to educate girls in Afghanistan and Pakistan with a grant of $10,000. However, our ability to offer this help depends on the kindness and generosity of our donors, good-hearted people like you who share our ideals and resonate with our values.

As one of the few Buddhist organizations dedicated to global giving, BGR plays an important role in representing the Buddha’s great compassion on the world stage. That’s why it is so vital that we establish a Buddhist presence in the work of the Central Asia Institute.

So, please, won’t you join us in this endeavor? As Mother’s Day approaches, please honor your mother – or any close relative or friend – by supporting our work on behalf of girls. Please donate – and donate generously – bearing in mind that your gift will likely benefit not just one person but entire communities in one of the world’s most troubled regions. Our participation in this project will also highlight the image of Buddhism as a teaching of generosity and compassion. To make a secure donation online via PayPal, please go to the donation page on the BGR Website: http://www.buddhistglobalrelief.org/active/donation.php. Or if you prefer, you can mail your check to us at: Buddhist Global Relief, PO Box 1611, Sparta, New Jersey 07871 USA

And if you would like to send an e-card informing your mother or loved one about the gift you have given in their name, simply download the PDF and either email it or print it out for the recipient.

Thank you so much for bringing forth a heart of generosity and compassion. May you reap abundant merits, and may all blessings be with you and your family.

Sincerely yours,

Kim Behan
Executive Director

Download the card and donate here.