The Carabiners Arrived!

Hello Web Wanderers,

Today Fiona and I got a pleasant surprise...the carabiners we ordered to help promote the website arrived. When we first created this blog, we began debating how to best "get the word" out about Papa's House and the Journey ahead of us. After going back and forth, we decided on custom made carabiner keychains. After numerous web searches, we found Marshall Song (lgyou@hotmail.com) at http://www.promoldings.com/. Pro Moldings is a Chinese based company, so it was a little nerve-racking wiring money overseas, but Marshall took our mission to heart and made us an excellent deal on producing these carabiners. He always treated Fiona and I with the utmost professionalism, so I highly recommend his company if you're looking for something similar.

You will notice that the keychains are "for sale", but really this is only to satisfy Google Checkout policies. Really, their purpose is strictly to help guide traffic to this site, so if you don't have one already, or you know people who would be interested in following Fiona's and my Journey, please let me know and I'd be happy to give you extra keychains to share. And since I would expect that "selling" them will open me to tax liabilities, my preference is for you to donate directly to Papa's House via the paypal link. But if you prefer for me to your steward to ensure the money is well spent, I have left the Google Checkout option available and I'll figure out the tax consequences when April 15th comes around. Ultimately, our goal in this all is to maximize your comfort and trust in supporting what we feel to be a vital institution.

This leads to the serious part of my entry this evening; why is Papa's House truly vital? It was recently reported that 1 out of 20 children in Nepal is an orphan. Some of these children have witnessed unimaginable acts of inhumanity. As Fiona highlighted in her previous blog, the Maoist problem is very serious. Some of these children have families, but it is simply too dangerous for the children to live with them due to the Maoists "recruiting" them through torturous means. Others have witnessed their mother being abducted, never to be seen again. And yet others have witnessed horrors too horrendous to think about. Michael Hess does everything in his power to provide a safe home and an education to these children to give them an alternative to being conscripted into Maoist "army" and a fresh start to acheive a potential that was almost deprived from them. Mikel Durham, an author and photojournalist, interviewed one of the boys in the home while visiting Nepal. An excerpt of his story follows:

"I have been in the orphanage for one and a half years. There was a Maoist problem in my village. The Maoists came to our house and asked for things, food. They came at night and if we could not provide food for them, they would beat us and do a lot of bad things. They showed us their guns and told us over and over, if we didn't give them what they wanted they would hit us and shoot us. They used to close the school and take us to their programs. One time they came and when I refused to go with them, they beat me. Then they took me to a far, far place. They did not give me food. And they threatened me. if I didn’t stay with them, the police and army would come and beat me. They locked me in a room. In the morning, they opened it again and brought me and some other children to a place far inside the jungle. One night, in the jungle, they told us that we could go home. But we were so far away that we didn’t know where our home was. So we could not leave. Then they took us further ahead and said, “You now have to join us.” They gave me a Maoist name. My mom and father were looking for me but they didn’t know where I was. One night we managed to escape from the Maoist camp in the jungle and I found my way back to my village. My family sent me away to here, to Papa's house so that I could be safe and get an education. I don't want to go back to my village."

Michael has spent over $200,000 of his own money (the vast majority of his assets) over the past few years to provide this safe sanctuary to 30+ and an education to over 340. But this isn't the main reason I've grown to respect him. I respect Michael most for allowing himself to become such a public figure in a land that knows no rule of law. Where any showing of "wealth" leads to people conniving and scheming how they can part him with it; whether it be by trickery or by physcial threats. However, despite the ever-present danger his work puts him in, Michael stays the course. Every time the threats reach new heights, the smiles and hugs of his "children" compell him to stay the course. Being willing to risk his own life (and that's not an exaggeration) in order to care, nurture and educate his charges is what truly earns Michael the right to carry the moniker "Papa".

Please take a few minutes to read Michael's website (http://www.nepalorphanshome.net/). Especially, read his "News" section (http://www.nepalorphanshome.net/news.asp). As you read his chronicles, you'll come to understand how much he truly cares about having each and every child grow and develop into a remarkable adult.

If you haven't done so already, please consider donating. Michael is not independantly wealthy and the continuation of his good works require our help. And of course, please share this website with your friends, family, and colleagues. Help create a sustaining wave that will ensure each child has the opportunity to reach their full potential.

Namaste,

Tom