In these times of huge uncertainty and turmoil, when the daily news is full of all that is wrong in the world, it feels even more important to remind ourselves of the many ways in which people are reaching out to each other with kindness and generosity – coming together to create the kind of world we all wish to live in. The challenge and possibility of being fully human in the face of suffering and loss is powerfully expressed in this extract from Naomi Shihab Nye’s poem Kindness:
Before you know kindness as the deepest thing inside,
you must know sorrow as the other deepest thing.
You must wake up with sorrow.
You must speak to it till your voice
catches the thread of all sorrows
and you see the size of the cloth.
Then it is only kindness that makes sense anymore,
…
only kindness that raises its head
from the crowd of the world to say
It is I you have been looking for,
and then goes with you everywhere
like a shadow or a friend.
So, we’d like to say a big thank you to our supporters, volunteers and donors for making it possible for us to continue our work of supporting children and young people in vulnerable situations around the world, and to update you on our activities.
In this newsletter:
- 12-year-old fundraiser Liam climbs Ireland’s highest mountain
- welcoming a new patron of the Mandala Trust
- saying farewell to one trustee
- ways in which you can help
Liam climbs Carrauntoohil!
On 2 April 2022, twelve-year-old Mandala Trust supporter Liam York successfully climbed Carrauntoohil – Ireland’s highest mountain – raising an incredible €1,176 (plus Gift Aid) to help our friends at Operation Kindness Mexico to build the Yucatan Kindness School – a youth education and permaculture project based in the Mayan towns of Tekax and Oxkutzcab. It was an awesome climb that took seven hours to complete – via the aptly named ‘Devils Ladder’ and up above the snow line. Liam is really grateful to everyone who has sponsored him and is looking forward to seeing the money used to help complete the project later this year.
You can find out more, make a donation, or create your own personalised fundraising page for a sponsored event, by visiting our JustGiving page HERE
Our new patron
We are delighted and honoured that Dr Vinya Ariyaratne, who is the President of Sri Lanka’s largest non-governmental grassroots development organisation, the Sarvodaya Shramadana Movement has agreed to become a patron of the Mandala Trust, joining our existing patron Elizabeth Laird.
Dr Ariyaratne, who trained as a doctor and gained a Master of Public Health degree from Johns Hopkins University, has dedicated himself for many years to serving communities in Sri Lanka across the ethnic and religious divides in his country, helping thousands of children to recover from the trauma of conflict. The Sarvodaya Movement, created in the 1950s by Vinya’s father, Dr A.T. Ariyaratne, has reached over 15,000 villages in Sri Lanka, developing community-based initiatives and volunteering. Sarvodaya Shramadana Societies are currently active in 3,000 villages, taking action to improve the lives of their community, with decisions made by representatives of the whole community including children (7-14 years old), young people (15-25 years old) and mothers.
Vinya writes: ‘I support the Mandala Trust because I share the same vision and philosophy and was inspired by the passion and commitment of its founder Matt York. This is a critical time for humanity. We need global solidarity and collective action to alleviate suffering. The Mandala Trust embodies the best of humanity and I am proud and honoured to be a part of it.’
Huge thanks to our departing trustee, Di Bligh
At the end of 2021, after serving the Mandala Trust for over thirteen years, Di Bligh stepped down from the board of trustees to dedicate her energy to non-violent activism to combat the climate and ecological crisis.
Di’s contribution to the Trust’s work was huge, generously giving of both her time and her considerable skills, and helping to forge and maintain relationships with our associates and partners, including Helping Refugees in Jordan. She brought a rigorous and compassionate approach to the Trust’s work, as well as great integrity and a profound commitment to fairness and justice. She was also great fun to work with! We will miss her, and also recognise that her work on the climate and ecological crisis is also serving the young people in vulnerable situations around the world who the Trust aims to serve.
If you’d like to be considered as a trustee, we’d love to hear from you – please email us at info@mandalatrust.org.
Get involved!
As a small charity run entirely by volunteers, our priority has always been to use our resources to enable and support grassroots projects that would struggle to obtain mainstream funding. As a result, we don’t use any of our resources for marketing, and this means that we rely entirely on our network of friends and supporters to keep this work alive. With this in mind we would welcome your continued support in 2022, and there are a number of ways in which you might help:
- Spread the word! Please let your friends, families and networks know about the Mandala Trust.
- Follow Liam’s great example and consider organising a fundraiser in your local community, school or workplace. It’s a fun way to support the Mandala Trust and build awareness of our work. If you like the idea but don’t know where to start, please contact us and we will be happy to offer advice and support.
- If you have skills that you think might help us in our work why not consider becoming a volunteer? As an entirely volunteer-run organisation we welcome all the help we can get, so please get in touch if you are interested in getting involved.
- And of course you can support our work financially. Every donation, of whatever size, helps to support the simple acts of kindness that our world so desperately needs right now, and particularly the children and young people growing up in these difficult times. You can do this very easily, by either making a one-off donation, or setting up a regular standing order, online via the donate page on our website.
With love and best wishes,
Brigid, Kathryn, Pam, Isla and Matt
The Mandala Trust Trustees
