- Photography sale! — photography of the Himalayas by Mark Sobralske
- Silent auction! — Purchase items from around the world donated by our board members and friends
- Raffle prizes!
Integrative specialist, Dr. Maker Clark, MD, will speak about the importance of preserving traditional forms of medicine.
Mark Sobralske will give a short talk on Himalaya Project and our mission of preserving Tibetan medicine in the Himalayas by providing health-care to thousands.
Dance party will ensue following the event. DJ Shang will officiate.
If you cannot attend in person, we could still use you support. You can attend virtually by donating on our website with PayPal. Even a $20 donation goes a long way in supporting our cause!
Casual Procession Towards Gakar Gompa
Here are two short videos of procession of locals to Gakar Gompa in Tarap Valley, Dolpo, Nepal.
In the first video, Children, lay men and women, monks as well as nakpa lamas, all walking towards Gakar Gompa. Behind are the mountains on the southern end of Tarap Valley, near Dho.
From a different vantage point in the second video, passer-byers stroll casually to the next event, while a prayer flag flaps in front of them and the camera.
Towards the end of the second video, the camera pans towards Gakar Gompa to view the line of observers and attendees awaiting Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche.
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Meeting with Local Doctors and Lamas
Journal Entry, 09/15/2011
This morning we had a successful meeting with the local doctors. Lama Namgyal, Amchi Pema and Lama Karma met with me from 9-11am at the Tibetan medicine outpost to talk about our shared project of starting a school to train a future generation of doctors of Tibetan medicine for the region.
I opened the meeting by asking them to offer a prayer to Sangye Menla, which lasted 5 minutes or so. Then I introduced Mingmar who video taped the meeting. I mentioned that I am the representative of an American contingent and that we would tape the meeting so that the rest of our board of directors could also take part in the meeting, throug hthe video.
I shared our mission statement and core values with the leaders and they liked it very much.
I explained my role of overseeing the project, arranging for the teachers, choice of students, connecting donors to the project and fundraising in the West so that our project leaves the realm of mere ideas to that of reality.
I repeated how much I respect them as doctors and lamas but that at times I must be cutting and straight forward.
We talked about whether or not we would include our school to match the government curriculum for a school for Tibetan medicine.
The meeting ended on a positive note and they offered me a beautiful yellow silk katak with the auspicious symbols of Tibetan Buddhism along with their blessings.
In my last 4 days of Dolpo I will meet with thm two more times to continue making our plans.
I should also write that Phurba, my friend and translator for the meeting, did a fantasitc job. I was happy to have him by my side facilitating the meeting. Our communication was effortless as a result of his skill.
Amchi Pema Preparing Medicine
Old pechas (Buddhist texts) on medicine, and antique medicine pouch
Amchi Pema, taking a pulse in order to diagnose a patient's condition
Himalaya Project: Enter the Dragon New Year
This afternoon, 02/22/12 marks an end to our first chapter in Himalaya Project’s book, the beginning of the Tibetan New Year, and the start of our second major phase of activity.
Along with 50 some-odd pages of paperwork, attached answers, copies of all our incorporating materials, bylaws, financials and of course, $850 USD, I walked into the post office in Evanston, Illinois on this sunny day to send a package of love to the IRS so we become a recognized tax-exempt organization.
Sending a form off to the IRS with a stack of hard-earned cash (well, ok.. it was a check) doesn’t sound like most people’s idea of a good time, but it felt great to me. My eyes watered a little in the sun on leaving. Thanks to an amazing volunteer board of directors, family and friends, we pulled together the money and the energy to get us to this point.
This is only the beginning.
This new year, the year of the Dragon, “gives rise to celebrations and grandiose projects.” (Quoting Philippe Cornu).
This auspicious start to our second major phase of our activity was unplanned. We were ready to submit last week, but one obstacle after another prevented us from submitting until today.
We now move away from the inward-looking, administrative paper shuffling and brainstorming towards the outward expansion of throwing fund-raisers, parties, and increasing awareness through other public events.
Teeth and claws bared like the dragon, we will tear through any obstacles in our way and we will succeed in providing an entire district of Nepal with health care through education.
I’m looking forward to our kick-off party, coming to Chicago in early May. This will be one party you won’t want to miss if you’re in the Mid-West. More details to come in my next post.
To all my friends, to all my family, I wish you the best this year.. that you are happy and have the causes for future happiness.
To all my Dolpopa, Nepali, Tibetan and Bhutanese friends reading this,
༄།ལོ་གསར་བཀྲ་ཤིས་བདེ་ ལེགས།།
Your friend,
Mark
Hidden Treasures and Hail
Journal Entry: 09/14/2011
Awaiting Rabjam Rinpoche to preside over a ceremony for the people of Tarap, all the pilgrims from around Dolpo and even further away.
I am very happy to be writing again on pen and paper as my friend Phurba gave me this notebook and a pen from Crystal Mountain School to take notes during meetings and for my own journaling along the way. Before I had been taking notes in my iPod but the batteries from that were already dead days before arriving in Tarap and there is no electricity here for at least 3 days walk.
Yesterday I had tea at Jampa Gonpa, a 1,000 year old temple built under the rule of Mustang by Lo Amapal, with Dolpo Tulku, a well-known Lama of the region. We talked about the temple itself and how the wall paintings were made with original paints ground from stone and jewels, rather than the new pigments which are of a chemical, man-made base, that don’t last as long.
As I said I am waiting for the event to begin, seated next to the board members of Action Dolpo, the principal of Crystal Mountain School and some other guest diplomats and government agents from far away. The Nepali diplomats and development agents look totally out of place here in the context of these wild surroundings.
The locals from Tarap are seated back about 40 yards from the lamas on the ground, exposed to the sun. They are all wearing their finest jewelry and clothes for the event and have brought with them enough food and supplies for one day to feed a small army.
The most interesting piece of jewelry I’ve seen with the ladies so far have been these silver hats that look sort of like their wearing a piece of curved sheet metal on top of their heads as hats. These are not worn anymore on a daily basis as they once were, but are only brought out during ceremonies such as this. They must be very old. I’ve never even met a blacksmith in Dolpo. I’m not sure where these metal objects were made. Perhaps they traded for them with the Tibetan drokpa (nomads on the Tibetan plains) or perhaps they had their own blacksmiths at one time and the tradition and family knowledge died out.
I wonder why they have to sit back so far while I and the other westerners sit so close. I feel strange about getting special treatment during the festivities.
During the ceremony, right after a rather poignant moment of cymbal crashing, horn blaring, drum beating, Rabjam Rinpoche sat still and upright in what looked to be his samadhi, a state of awareness and mental equipoise and seconds later it began to hail. Not the large damaging baseball-sized variety, but roughly the size of a pea.
During this time all the locals who were seated outside during the ceremony rushed to find shelter.
Lhakpa’s youngest sister, Karma Yingzin found me in my sheltered corner with next to Marie Claire Gentry. We lifted her and her best friend, Niger up and out of the crowd up over the people to us to take them out of the hail.
The interesting thing about the hail was that it was only over the school, where the event took place and did not move north or south through the valley. If it would moved, the crops would have been destroyed as the barley already was ready for harvested.
This environmental participation in the event was quite something.
I asked Dolpo Tulku afterwards what he thought of it and he said that since the outer phenomena of the world and the inner phenomena of the mind are ultimately not separate.
Big changes in Mind such as what takes place during an empowerment such as this may cause drastic changes in the physical environment as well. This type of occurence is not something special to focus on or get wrapped up in. The true power still lies in Mind itself.
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Dolpopas at Opening of Ribum Festival in Tarap Valley
Two short video clips here of the Dolpopas making their way to the Crystal Mountain School for the opening ceremony of the Ribum Festival in Tarap Valley, Dolpo, Nepal with Rabjam Rinpoche presiding.
Of interest in these videos is the beautiful women’s jewelry passed down from grandmothers and great-grandmothers worn only for occassions such as this.
Rabjam Rinpoche Enters Tarap Valley on Horseback
Two video clips here of Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche entering Tarap Valley after arriving by helicopter in Dho from Dunai. He is greeted by all the locals and accompanied by other lamas and Nepali police. As he passes by on horseback, the locals put the katas they are offering over their heads as a sign of receiving blessing. The children are singing a song in Tibetan to welcome his arrival later in the second video. Later that day the Ribo Bumpa Festival would begin.
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Himalaya Project on Etsy!
Hi All,
Himalaya Project now has an online store at Etsy!
check out our online store at:
http://www.etsy.com/shop/HimalayaProject
In our shop you will find a selection of 8×10 photo prints from Dolpo, Nepal taken by me over the last two years.
All proceeds go towards filing our non-profit paperwork for Himalaya Project which will allow us to fund raise on a much larger scale in 2012 and bring the Dolpo School of Tibetan Buddhist Medicine to fruition!
Happy Holidays,
Mark Sobralske
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Himalaya Project: End of Year Gratitude and Our First Year Together!
Dear Himalaya Project Board Members and Close Friends,
As we are approaching the end of our first year as Himalaya Project, I wanted to extend my deep thanks and gratitude to all our board members, family and friends for making our development this year possible.
Last night at our Himalaya Project board meeting, we celebrated together and I shared some stories about individual board members’ efforts and how it’s contributed to bringing us to where we are today. I can proudly say that we are poised for explosive growth in 2012!
To board members present, those who couldn’t attend and former board members who were there in the beginning stages, we extended our warmest thanks as I told some of your stories of how you all contributed to our shared success this past year.
Again, thank you for all you have done to bring us to where we are!
2011 Major Events for Himalaya Project
- 01/08/2011 – Incorporated as Himalaya Project
- January, February 2011 – Proceed to successfully register with varying levels of government from IRS, Sec. State of IL, Attorney General of IL
- February-June 2011 – Website and all marketing materials, as well as presentation
- June-July 2011 – Set Himalaya Project up as a proper business/corporation – defining board expectations, individual roles and responsibilities
- September 2011 – The site visit to Dolpo at this stage of the game was indispensible in securing our site, connecting with locals, connecting with high lamas in Dolpo, gaining more community support, start effort of establishing curiculum with local amchis, gained support and blessing from Shechen Rabjam Rinpoche and His Holiness Karmapa Thaye Dorje.
- October 2011 – Completed 1023 application for 501c3 non-profit status
- December – begin our first fundraising project to raise money for 1023 filing with IRS, addition of Mel Barzaga and Sarah McLaughlin to board of directors
The Long View – Where are we headed?
In 2012 we will:
- Have an immensely successful Himalaya Project Kick-Off Party where we will expand our network and begin fund-raising
- Shift our focus entirely to fund-raising, giving talks and lecture, networking with like-minded foundations and institutions
- Begin making plans to open our school, Spring 2013
Where We Are Right Now
- We have raised just over $500 together in the last month! Amazing!
- Our goal of $1,000 is a very small flood gate to a whole new level of activity for Himalaya Project. We cannot proceed with our Kick-Off Fundraiser in 2012 until we reach this mark.
- We will continue with our photo sales online at http://sobralske.wordpress.com/2011/11/24/chance-to-purchase-8×10-original-photography-by-mark-sobralske-to-support-himalaya-project/
- and in-person to raise the final $500.
- As we agreed on in our board expectations completed this summer, all board members are committed to Himalaya Project financially for at least 1 dollar a year. If you haven’t yet made your yearly donation, we need your help most, right here, right now! (donations can be made through our website at: www.himalaya-project.org
- Once we have our $1,000 we can begin fund-raising in 2012! The sky is the limit for us and the benefit we will bring into the world!
I am indebted, grateful and very proud of all the board members past and present. What we’ve accomplished in one year far surpasses what many non-profits can do in twice that time. The part that I feel even better about is that it all comes from some surplus that we all share apart from our daily lives. We’ve managed to fuel our progress through volunteerism and idealism.
Happy Holidays to you and yours,
Mark Sobralske
Himalaya Project Welcomes Melissa Barzaga and Sarah McLaughlin
Himalaya Project would like to welcome two of its newest board members!
Sarah McLaughlin and Melissa Barzaga joined in in late November and are already making fast tracks for Himalaya Project!
Sarah McLaughlin – Event Planning and Crisis Management Director
Sarah is a licensed massage therapist and Thai bodyworker who has an interest in preserving intact traditional medical systems such as Tibetan Buddhist Medicine.
Sarah McLaughlin
“This project will make an enormous difference in the access and quality of health care in their (Dolpo) communities. Also, the centuries of history surrounding this medical system provides a cultural foundation that is rare today. Keeping this tradition alive will also benefit us as a global community.”
Sarah has a background in public relations, event planning and conflict/crisis management.
We thankfully and whole-heartedly welcome Sarah aboard!
Mel Barzaga – Marketing Director
Mel comes to us with a background in marketing and media relations and is well-equipped and motivated to take on the job of marketing director for Himalaya Project.
Mel Barzaga
“I truly believe that if you want to improve peoples’ lives you start by educating children. One educated child can pass on the wisdom to hundreds more during their lifetime. The cause will help provide better health care and in essence save lives.”
Mel works s a senior media planner/buyer and works with a host of marketing teams.
Mel’s ideas and energy will be a huge asset to Himalaya Project and the people that depend on us in Nepal in the future!
We’re so thankful to have both these powerful ladies our team!
