Cooking for Nepal
The World Buddhist Kitchen for Nepal provides help to impoverished villages in the Himalayan nation
MORE THAN three months have passed since a devastating earthquake hit Nepal yet Thais are still continuing their efforts to raise funds and provide necessities for the victims of the tremblor, the worst natural disaster to hit the country since 1934.
Hundreds of thousands of people were left homeless by the quake with entire villages flattened across many districts of the country and centuries-old buildings destroyed at Unesco World Heritage sites in the Kathmandu Valley.
One of the latest initiatives to be organised was “Krua Khun Toi to the World Buddhist Kitchen for Nepal 2015”. The brainchild of Anurut Wongwanich, president of the World Buddhist Kitchen for Nepal 2015, it was put together with the help of the World Fellowship of Buddhists, the World Fellowship of Buddhist Youth, Dharmmodaya Sabha, the Young Buddhist Association of Thailand, the Bangkok Photographic Society, Holiday Farmer Networks and “Krua Khun Toi”, a popular food-and-cooking TV show that airs on Channel 3.
Twenty-nine restaurants contributed to the food fair, among them Je Ngor’s Kitchen, Ped Palo Nine Nub, Pot Ministry, Royal Dragon, Nittaya Kai Yang, Louis Leeman and Le Pla Daak, which was held at EmQuartier Shopping Complex in June.
Souvenirs were distributed to participants who also got to enjoy a photo exhibition titled “After the Earthquake”. Net proceeds totalled Bt3 million and an additional Bt7 million was donated by the World Buddhist Kitchen.
Last month Petcharee Promchuay and Saifon Cheechang, presenters of Channel 3’s “Toh Khao Bantoeng” and “Krob Krua Kao” respectively, led a group of Thais to Nepal to present the funds and relief items to those in need.
From Tribhuvan International Airport in Kathmandu, they were first taken to Patan, a city in the south-central part of the Kathmandu Valley, and home to several Unesco World Heritage |sites including the Ancient Royal Palace and temples in Patan Durbar Square, which were reduced to rubble by the earthquake.
They also attended the “Mahasangha -Dana” ceremony, offering US$1,000 to 150 monks and nuns from Buddhist monasteries.
Tin sheet roofing and auxiliary equipment was handed to 120 families in the four earthquake-affected districts of Patan, Trisuli, Dhading and Banepa.
The following day, the group presented money and “life packs” to 350 families in Khokana, a traditional Newari village about eight kilometres south of Kathmandu on the outskirts of Patan, and another village in Dhading.
Lend a hand
- You too can help Nepalese victims by donating to the World Buddhist Kitchen through bank account number 713-2-60844-4 of Kasikorn Bank, Central Plaza Grand Rama IX branch.
