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Paving the way – a special event on 12.1.24 in Schaffhausen
Warm invitation to a live event with Daniel and Karin Bürgi, founders of the NGO Himalayan Life
Last year, a group of five cyclists from four countries cycled 600 kilometers in the thin air of the high Himalayas to raise awareness of the living conditions of the people who work at this altitude, sometimes under extremely difficult conditions, and to raise funds for Himalayan Life 's projects. We had the honor of making a film about this sponsored bike ride. Many of our clients and friends followed the project and support Himalayan Life.
Now we have the unique opportunity to organize a live event in Schaffhausen with Dani and Karin Bürgi, founders of Himalayan Life:
Date
Friday, 12 January 2024 in Schaffhausen
Location: Werkstätte Liechtblick, Amsler-Laffon-Strasse 1, Schaffhausen, 4th floor
time
18.15 Door opening
6.30pm Aperitif
19.15 Presentation by Daniel Bürgi with short film
8:15 PM Interview and Q+A
8.45pm End
Contribution for the aperitif and drinks: CHF 39 per person. The amount can be paid on-site in cash or via TWINT. Rounding up is permitted – any excess will go entirely to Himalayan Life. To ensure we know how many people are coming, please register by January 11, 2024:
I/we will be attending the information event on January 12, 2024:
Helping people help themselves isn't just a slogan at Himalayan Life, but a lived reality. The organization builds schools, organizes sporting events across caste lines, offers programs to help street children get off drugs, founded the first PET recycling plant in Nepal, and is working to give smallholder farmers better prospects. The goal is always to pursue a long-term vision for genuinely improving living conditions. The organization employs almost exclusively locals in Nepal, thus creating jobs and imparting know-how to Nepalese people. We were inspired by this approach. On January 12, 2024, you will receive firsthand information on how development cooperation really makes a difference and how donations are used efficiently and directly to improve the living conditions of many people, especially children.
Photos and film clips in the header: Dani Rimann
Experiencing God through the hands
Is it possible to experience God through the hands, fingertips, and eyes? Japanese/American painter Makoto Fujimura believes so. He discovered God through artistic activities and wrote an inspiring book about it.
Is it possible to experience God through the hands, fingertips, and eyes? Japanese/American painter Makoto Fujimura believes so. He discovered God through artistic activities and wrote an inspiring book about it.
“ When people become creative, something sacred happens: we invite the abundance of God's world into the reality of scarcity around us. ”
In " Art + Faith ," with a foreword by British theologian N.T. Wright, Fujimura offers a "theology of creation." He became a Christian later in life, but explains that even as a child, painting made him feel like "honoring the source of beauty and poetry in this world." In creating art, he discovered the Creator.
Fujimura's art is characterized by vibrant, deep colors, an abundance of gold, and abstraction. It leaves room for interpretation, intuition, and mysticism. He uses Japanese techniques, precious mineral pigments, and handmade paper. He mixes the pigments with a special binder and water: a slow, liturgical process. "My work has a life of its own," he explains, "and I listen to the voice of my Creator through my creation. When people create, something sacred happens: We invite the abundance of God's world into the reality of scarcity around us."
The Bible is a book in which much is created. Fujimura believes that "in the process of creation, we can learn the depth of God's nature and His grace that permeates our lives and creation." One of the insights is that God doesn't "fix" us. This "plumbing theology," as Fujimura calls it, is far too limited. "God doesn't just improve, repair, and restore: God renews and raises us from the dead, He exceeds our expectations and desires beyond what we dare to ask or imagine."
His example is Kintsugi , the Japanese art of repairing broken pottery with gold bonds. The Kintsugi technique doesn't just repair pottery: it makes the object more beautiful and unique than the original. A bowl repaired with Kintsugi is no longer a functional object, but is elevated by the Kintsugi master to the "realm of beauty."
Left: kintsugi. Right: yobi-tsugi. Images: ZVG
When Fujimura visited a Kintsugi master in Tokyo, he was introduced to Yobi-tsugi: a kind of Kintsugi 2.0. In Yobi-tsugi, not only are the shards reassembled with glue and gold, but lost or misplaced pieces are also repaired with new ceramics, creating a kind of collage: an entirely new work of art made up of old and new components. Kintsugi master Mr. Nakamura, for example, combined ceramics from two rival countries: North and South Korea, creating Yobi-tsugi, a miniature version of peace.
These shards, which the Kintsugi master carefully collects to create something new, are an important metaphor, explains Fujimura. "After Jesus rose from the grave with a new body, his wounds were still visible. Our own brokenness can also be visible. The shards in our lives—in light of Christ's visible wounds—can be a necessary part of the world to come through creation. For just as the Kintsugi master carefully collects and nurtures all the shards, so God also collects our joy, our loss, and our pain to ultimately create something new."
The beauty of Fujimura's book is that it teaches us to look at God in a different way. The artist experiences God with his fingertips, his hands, and his eyes. He calls Christians to create and to make our imagination and creativity an essential part of our faith journey. So that "our art, what we create, will be multiplied in God's new world."
Links
• Makoto Fujimara's homepage
• Video in which Makoto Fujimura explains his message
Source: Makoto Fujimura, Marieta van Driel
with kind permission ofJoel News
750_Yangri – join us in making a statement!
On the night of June 14-15, a tsunami of unprecedented magnitude hit the Yangri Valley in Nepal. Help us rebuild the Yangri Academic Center, which is so vital to the region!
On the night of June 14-15, a spring tide destroyed Himalayan Life's Aangri Academic Center (YAC). The place, which had become a symbol of hope for the entire community, was swept away by the floods within a few hours. I visited twice and saw the dedication of the teachers at the YAC and the joy the children bring to school. It's clear to me: This place of hope and new beginnings cannot be allowed to remain destroyed. Together with you, we can ensure that hope doesn't die in Yangri!
This photo of mine shows the Yangri Academic Center in 2019. Himalayan Life commissioned a special assessment to ensure the land was safe for development. And despite the positive assessment, the tsunami has now washed everything away.
This image shows the situation the day after the disaster. Meanwhile, the rear of the two buildings in the red circle and the building to the right in the red circle have also been engulfed by the floods.
Let us make a statement together
Every time Liverpool FC fans sing their "You never walk alone," I get goosebumps. What a message from the fans to their team. And how much more do the people of Yangri need this message now – you never walk alone! The 2015 earthquake already hit the valley hard. Many people lost their lives. Himalayan Life is committed to providing long-term support in this valley and breaking the cycle of poverty. For Daniel Bürgi, the founder and director of Himalayan Life, one thing is clear:
"Despite many unanswered questions, one thing is clear: We will never give up on children who harbor hope for a good and fulfilling life—a life in which they can discover and develop their potential."
Make the difference
Niri is one of approximately 180 children attending school at the Yangri Academic Center. She lives in Ripaar, about a two-hour walk from Yangri. Without the school, her life prospects are quite bleak: marriage at 15, illiteracy, and no other language except Sherpa, which she can no longer use even in the lower part of the Yangri Valley. The school changes everything for her. For her and all the other 180 Niris—and thus for the entire region—it is vital that the school be rebuilt.
750-Yangri
Rebuilding the school requires new land, buildings, and even new tools. This takes time and money. Himalayan Life dreams of building a high school as part of the reconstruction. The cost of this entire project is approximately CHF 750,000. Although this is many times cheaper than a comparable construction project here, it is still a significant sum.
But what if 750 people, families, friends, or companies each invested CHF 1,000 in the future of the people of Yangri? That would be doable. And that's why I founded 750-Yangri. Help us find these 750 supporters who will invest CHF 1,000 each.
We'll get started and sponsor the first CHF 1,000. Help us find the other 749 supporters by becoming a supporter yourself and sharing this blog post wherever you can – Facebook, Linkedin, Twitter, company websites, etc. The link is www.720.ch/blog/750-yangri
And if you can't contribute CHF 1000, then of course any other contribution is welcome:
More info
You can learn more about the Yangri Academic Center in the film I produced last year:
We regularly publish news from Yangri on the Himalayanlife homepage – just check back often and subscribe to the Himalayan Life newsletter .