[Buddha-l] Dana

[Kate]

Hi Mike,

The only charity I support on a regular basis is the Sporting Wheelies and
Disabled Association.  During my years in Mozambique I saw so many people
with missing or withered limbs, it was heartbreaking.  Some were victims of
malnutrition or birth defects, but most were victims of land mines.

There was one disabled group that had the greatest influence on my choosing
to support this particular charity.  I used to go to the university gym for
martial arts practice.  We always had to share floor space with other
groups - indoor cricketers, table tennis players, rollerskaters whizzing
past to the strains of the Blue Danube.  On Tuesday nights it was the
disabled basketball team's turn.

The team, made up of both men and women, couldn't afford their own wheel
chairs and used those provided by the university which were kept in a
storeroom at the far end of the gym.  Somehow the team would meet as a group
outside the gym and then have to wriggle or crawl their way down the full
length of the gym to get their wheelchairs.  It was like a caravan of the
macabre - bizarre, shocking and an instant lesson in compassion.

Once in their wheel chairs they were completely different.  They could
handle those things like anything, spin them on a dime.  It was broad smiles
and flashing eyes all round.  They were mobile, having fun and seemed to
have an increased sense of selfworth and dignity.

I couldn't do much to help the disabled in Africa, not even the few at the
gym.  So a number of years ago when I was back home and approached to make
regular donations for the Sporting Wheelies (I'm not Buddhist so I didn't
think in terms of Dana) I was very happy to do so.

I don't know if this helps with your choice of charities, Mike.

All the best
Kate