UPDATE, JANUARY 23, 2008:  We received this lovely note the other day from Matthieu Ricard (pictured here) and Vivian Kurz who is his right hand person in the United States.

“Thanks to your generosity and kindness and through your reservations, auction bids, fund in need donations, and private donations that your amazing energy inspired, Shechen raised the initial target amount to build the Clinic in Bihar!! Once the news was out about Googlers' giving, other people were inspired to add to the amount as well!

“That is great news as it allows us to build the three stories we had hoped for so that volunteer doctors and nurses can stay. Construction will begin in early spring.

“Shechen and the people of Bihar are ever grateful to all of you. So many lives will be benefited over generations. Please come and visit both the clinic in India and our Monastery and clinics in Nepal and Tibet!”

ORIGINAL POST:  We went to a wonderful, inspired fundraiser for the Shechen Clinics which was hosted by a group of Googlers in Mountain View.  First on the program was Tan Chade-Meng, who introduced author/photographer Matthieu Ricard.  After training in biochemistry at the Institute Pasteur, Matthieu left science behind to move to the Himalayas and become a Buddhist monk.  French translator and right-hand man for the Dalai Lama, Matthieu has been the subject of intensive clinical tests at the University of Wisconsin, as a result of which he is frequently described as “the happiest man in the world." When you meet him it’s easy to see why.  He equated altruism with real happiness.  “You flourish from doing good, from expressing love and kindness.” He quoted Albert Schweitzer as saying “love is the only thing that doubles every time you share it.” 

Matthieu showed the plans for Project Respite which was the beneficiary of the event.  Respite will work with Shechen Projects to expand the Shechen Medical Center's activities into a bastion of health education, public health, and disease prevention:

…Respite will bring expanded free health care to an area and population that has no other recourse to medical help.

…Expand the clinic to house a DOTS center for fighting tuberculosis. This will also help to defray medical costs through the WHO program.

…Create an in-house laboratory to test and treat malaria, HIV, hepatitis, and other diseases.

…Start a family planning and safe-motherhood program.

…Introduce male and female contraception as part of a broader health program.

…Bring dignity and comfort to a forgotten people.

…Support the educational and medical initiatives of Shechen Projects

Since 2000, under the leadership of Matthieu Ricard, Shechen has initiated and is maintaining over thirty humanitarian projects in India, Tibet, Nepal, and Bhutan. The projects include the building and maintenance of over sixteen medical clinics and seven schools, the support of over two thousand children, elderly people, orphans, displaced persons, and a dozen university students.  

For example, in Nepal, Shechen Clinic treats more than 3,500 patients monthly, more than half of them are given medicines and consultations free of charges.    In India, the Shechen Mobile Medical Clinic serves twelve remote villages that have no other access to medical care. In Bodhgaya, India, Shechen is in need of funds to construct a small medical clinic and dispensary on land recently purchased for this purpose. 

In eastern Tibet, Shechen has built schools, bridges, and small dispensaries, in addition to supporting college students, the elderly and displaced.

Overhead expenses are less than 2 % of the budget. A hallmark of Shechen projects is that they operate in places where there is a real need and no other recourses for health care and education are available.

Several of Matthieu’s breathtaking photographs were auctioned off along with a case of Mendocino Farms, a superb biodynamic wine and an original painting by Yahne Le Toumelin, who is a renowned French painter and Matthieu’s mother.  The evening was a resounding success and raised close to $100,000 for the mission.