Many have asked what they can do to help us in our Himalayan schools and vocational centers for abandoned children and poor girls and widows. The most appreciated gift is, of course, a financial donation, to allow us to continue to educate, feed, clothe, house and inspire our little ones. Other gifts are also highly appreciated—often the kind of things that we have laying around the house, new or used, and which we are not using more.

Any of the following items, as long as they are in good working condition, would make a beautiful difference in a child’s life or our staff’s work:

• dolls and puppets

• games (jigsaw puzzles, cards, magic sets, etc.)

• educational toys

• pencils, pens, rulers, erasers, compasses, etc.

• notebooks and notepads (any size)

• blank journals or diaries (even of previous years)

• pocket calculators

• solar chargers (any size)

• first-aid kits

• musical instruments which are not easily available in India, such as: flute (pan, straight or transverse), guitar, ukulele, harmonica, violin, banjo, balalaika, mandolin, drums, etc.

• educational, nature, or spiritual movies (DVDs or VCDs only—no VHS tapes please)

• small printers (B&W or color, laser or inkjet—with spare cartridges please)

• laptops with working charger

• digital cameras with working charger and digital card (no film-based cameras please)

• digital video cameras with working charger and blank tapestripods

• microphones (good quality)water filters

• cellular phones with working charger

• tools

• kitchenknives

• teaching aids

Please do not send any perishable items (plants or food), nor any books or clothes or medicines, as they are respectively too heavy, too bulky, and too risky to ship.

If you are interested in shipping these items (or taking them to India directly), please contact us at shantiprema108@yahoo.com for shipping advice and addresses. Thank you very much. God bless your noble heart always.