The global health emergency we are experiencing, at least here in Italy, is upsetting our daily lives, throwing our plans upside down, destroying the framework around which our daily lives revolve, and devastating our social contacts and cultural commitments.

All of this, like any crisis, can be a great opportunity, if we know how to seize it. As far as we are concerned, as an Association for International Solidarity in Asia, it can be a great opportunity to develop a deeper understanding of those values ​​that are the root of Buddhist culture and the vision that led Chögyal Namkhai Norbu to found ASIA. Among these, in particular, awareness of the impact that thoughts, words and actions can have on our environment, and the consequent sense of responsibility that impels us to behave each day in a way that will safeguard the community in which we live and consequently also the communities that we support with our projects on the other side of the globe, in Asia. This is because the interdependence that binds all living things is increasingly tangible in this globalized world. And that’s why our thoughts go to the beneficiaries of the projects, boys and girls, women, shepherds and farmers, university students, monks and nuns who count on our help to be able to continue to experience that excellent means that is improving their lives and making them more dignified.

Another value that this health emergency allows us to deepen is empathy. Now that we are experiencing this emergency it is easier for us to put ourselves in the shoes of those who constantly experience situations of crisis and sudden changes, such as the children of Nepal and their families who lost everything with the 2015 earthquake, the Tibetan population forced to undergo severe restrictions and policies of cultural annihilation, and all the Himalayan populations that suffer the tragic effects of climate change.

In this sense, the Covid19 emergency can help us to deepen our humanity, to develop an empathetic attention towards others, with the awareness that we are all part of the same human family.

To concretely demonstrate our closeness and support to the people of the Himalayas, we have created the ASIA FRIENDS campaign.

It is a way to guarantee continuous help over time and continue to carry out our projects in the field, with different ways of contributing:
– with € 9 per month you become Drokpo (Friend, in Tibetan)
– with € 20 per month you become Jindak (Supporter)
– with 50 euros per month you become Yon dak (Benefactor)

If you share our values ​​and our mission, become a friend of ASIA

Find out more

https://asia-ngo.org/en/what-you-can-do/support-us/become-a-friend-of-asia