2017 Annual Report Buddhist Global Relief Compassion in Action Cover photo (clockwise from top left): Arts Creation Foundation for Children, Food Aid program in Haiti; Helen Keller International, Improving Nutritional Outcomes among Children in Côte d’Ivoire; Bodhicitta Foundation, Girls Hostel and Women’s Job Training/Community Centre in Nagpur, India; Lotus Outreach, GATE Rice Support in Cambodia Contents MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR 2 MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR 3 VISION AND MISSION STATEMENTS 4 OUR PROJECTS 5 CAMBODIA Increasing Food Security in Rural Cambodia 6 HAITI Growing Healthy Children and Strong Families in Jacmel, Haiti 8 INDIA A Hostel for Change-Makers in Nagpur, India 10 NICARAGUA Empowering Girls to Follow Their Dreams in Nicaragua 12 SUDAN Helping Displaced Families in South Darfur Place Roots 14 OTHER PROJECTS IN BRIEF 16 WALKS TO FEED THE HUNGRY 20 CONCERT TO FEED THE HUNGRY 22 COMBINED FEDERAL CAMPAIGN 23 PARTNERSHIPS FOR HUMANITARIAN ACTION 24 FINANCIAL STATEMENTS 26 ANNUAL SUPPORT 28 HOW YOU CAN HELP 30 LEADERSHIP 32 MESSAGE FROM THE CHAIR BGR began in 2008 with a gathering of a group of idealistic Buddhists who felt compelled to address the suffering that haunted the lives of millions of people around the world. After a period of reflection, we defined our mission as combating chronic hunger and malnutrition, which we saw as a deep stain on the soul of humanity. In a world of vast wealth and technological power, it seemed unconscionable that we could allow close to a billion people to go to bed hungry each day and that millions each year would die an early death due merely to lack of adequate nutrition. Global hunger, the experts say, is not inevitable but can be licked. To solve it, however, calls for compassion and commitment on the part of those who live in relative security and affluence. Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi This year Buddhist Global Relief celebrated its tenth anniversary, a major milestone. Over the years, we have steadily grown into a stable relief organi- zation presently making an impact through 35 projects in countries ranging from Mongolia to Nicaragua and the U.S. itself. The growth of BGR over the past decade has only been possible through the dedicated efforts of many people, almost all contributing on a voluntary basis. These include our staff, our Board of Directors, and many volunteers who either help in a regular role or assist at special events, such as our nation-wide “Walk to Feed the Hungry” and our springtime “Concert to Feed the Hungry.” Most of all, however, the success of BGR has been due to you, our donors, for it is your donations that empower our projects. We thus invite you to look through this annual report and rejoice in all that you have made possible. Re- joice in seeing that, through your generosity, poor girls and boys from remote villages and urban slums are going to school and eagerly pursuing an educa- tion. Rejoice to see that women are feeding their families. Rejoice to see that farmers are being trained in more sustainable methods of agriculture. And rejoice in the realization that your generosity is rescuing thousands of people from persistent illness and early death and leading them to a brighter future. With blessings, Ven. Bhikkhu Bodhi 2 MESSAGE FROM THE EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR Dear Supporters, Partners, and Friends, Thank you for making 2017 a fruitful year of compassionate action at Bud- dhist Global Relief. Through the continued generosity of our supporters, this year saw the donation levels to BGR continue their steady annual growth, breaking the $600,000 mark. We were able to maintain annual funding levels to our existing long-term hunger relief projects, expand the number and scope of these projects, and provide emergency grants to large relief organizations when climate or conflict related disaster events occurred worldwide. Tom Spies In 2017 BGR supported over thirty long-term hunger relief projects in fifteen countries, the details of which can be found later in this report. Two new project partners this year are engaged in: • Direct food aid, educational support, wellness training, and community garden instruction to poverty-stricken children and their parents in Haiti. • Educational support for underprivileged girls and women in Nicaragua. In the fundraising area, BGR once again held Walk to Feed the Hungry events in ten cities across the US, as well as one city in the UK, raising over $100,000 towards our cause. Our annual Concert to Feed the Hungry was held in NYC and, as in past years, was an uplifting evening of beautiful world music in support of BGR. In the area of outreach and communications, we continue to publish our quarterly newsletter, Helping Hands, make semi-weekly inspi- rational and informational posts on Facebook, and maintain our BGR blog. Also this year we welcomed our new local outreach affiliate, Compassion NYC (www.compassionnyc.org) which takes the ideals of BGR and applies and focuses them at the local level in the New York City area. We are sincerely grateful to all of our fundraising and outreach volunteers for giving their time and effort to help ensure BGR’s success. Looking to next year we anticipate a consistent steady rate of growth in donation support, achieved through continuation of our existing fundraising and outreach programs and the addition of new types of outreach efforts. We expect to repeat or increase our existing level of annual funding to our partners in the field, and we will look for opportunities to expand our reach in providing long-term hunger relief. Thank you once again to all of BGR’s donors, volunteers, partners, and staff. Your generosity and kindness is humbling, and is making the world a better place for many that were once in despair. Tom Spies Executive Director 3 EthiopiaA HOSTEL FOR CHANGE-MAKERS IN NAGPUR, INDIA Cameroon VISION We are inspired by the vision of a world in which debilitating INDIApoverty has finally been banished; a world in which all can avail themselves of the basic material supports of a meaningful life— food, clothing,housing, and health care; a world in which everyone can achieve a satisfactory level of education and freely pursue that which gives their life value and purpose; a world in which all people dwell in peace and harmony with one another and with the natural environment. Vietnam MISSION Detroit Our mission is to combat chronic hunger and malnutrition. Bear- Côte d’Ivoire ing in mind the Buddha’s statements that “hunger is the worst kind of illness” and “the gift of food is the gift of life,” we sponsor projects that promote hunger relief for poor communities around Bangladesh the world. We pursue our mission by: • providing direct food aid to people afflicted by hunger and malnutrition India • helping develop better long-term methods of sustainable food production and management appropriate to the cultures and traditions of the beneficiaries • promoting the education of girls and women, so essential in the struggle against poverty and malnutrition • giving women an opportunity to start right livelihood projects to support their families. “It is the first time WeI have also seek ever to raisefelt awarenesssafe or loved of global in hunger my andlife.” advocate for an international food system that exemplifies social justice and conduces to ecological sustainability. Bronx Cambodia New York City New York Santa Clara County 4 Sri Lanka 4 Nicaragua BGR PROJECTS BGR projects are designed to address chronic hunger and malnutrition, to promote greater food productivity at the grass-roots level, and to tackle the root causes of food insecurity. We partner with organizations already operating on the ground, with whom we formu- late and implement our projects. These organizations include major international relief agencies, such as Helen Keller International and Ox- fam, and smaller or emerging agen- cies which have a more local focus he Bodhicitta Founda vulnerable yet high-achieving portive,” she says. “It meant a or address specific needs, tion, spearheaded by girls from the poorest sections great deal to me because I am such as Lotus Outreach the Australian Bud- of Indian society. Besides hous- an orphan.” Her job as a science T International in Cambodia and the dhist nun Ayya Yeshe, is dedi- ing, the girls receive tuition teacher at a government college cated to empowering women and assistance, food, transportation,What If?saved Foundation her from a inforced Haiti. marriage. girls from the backward slums books, and security. Social work- On Sunday, Deepti feeds ten and villages of India. At the ers provide job training, legal Buddhismgirls atteaches the home that and hunger helps isthem a Bodhicitta Foundation, a wom- and financial education, and sourcestudy. of acute She pain started and a asewing barrier class an can receive an education, job instruction in subjects includingto spiritualfor twenty growth. women BGR that seeks meets to training, housing, food and med- public speaking, self-defense, removefour that times barrier a week. and Eventually, thereby ical treatment for herself and her and English. The girls, in turn,give othersshe dreams the chance of starting to live a school children, library services, legal have pledged to return to theirhealthy for lives poor of girls. dignity and purpose. advice, counseling, and, perhaps villages to complete 500 hoursRecognizing of Mansi, that15, would all human like to beings be a psy - most importantly, a social net- social work and help 300 womshare- achologist common or desire social worker.for happi Mansi- work of other like-minded wom- en over two years. “These girlsness, wefled lend her a father, helping who hand abused to our and en. Three educational centers were desperate cases rescued unseeneventually brothers murderedand sisters her across moth - offer tutoring to 90 school-age from train stations, brothels, and er, then married a woman who the globe, enabling them to fulfill children in reading, writing, and situations of child labor,” writes turned Mansi into a domestic great dreams and tap unrealized mathematics, and a food program Ayya Yeshe.