Our volunteer and donation efforts are at the core of Red Lotus Tours. It’s what gives our tours heart and soul and what will touch yours if you decide to join us. Here's how we give.

In 2007, through donations from our clients, friends, families, and communties we were able to give over $3,000 to Path of the Heart and the Hot Chocolate and Shoe project (see below).

Universal Path of the Heart:

In Peru, we work with a grass roots project called Path of the Heart founded by Dr. Sharon Forrest, a gifted healer, speaker and author. (www.pathoftheheart.org). The project is entirely funded by donations, and 100% of the proceeds go directly to the children.

Among the many projects of Path of the Heart is a program dedicated to feeding hot lunches to the children of Ollantaytambo and surrounding villages. There is no lunch program at Peruvian schools, and many children go without. Some children must walk up to 4 hours both to and from school, which means a meal is 4 hours, and a long-walk away. And remember, some of these villages sit at, or above, 10,000 feet!

Washington Gibaja Tapia (our guide) grew up as one of these children and knows first-hand the hardships of this life. With his own money and with the help of Path of the Heart, he was able to open the Universal Path of the Heart Restaurant.

On average the restaurant is able to serve hot lunches daily to around 120-150 children.

On our tours we spend a day helping the women in the kitchen prepare and serve lunch for the children, as well as donate money to help stock the pantry with staples such as rice, potatoes and corn.

We also bring paper notebooks, pens, and pencils for every child. There is nothing quite like the smile of child who has just received a new pencil. It’s such a small gift that is so appreciated by these children.

This program gives us a chance to touch the lives of these children by offering our time and energy, as well as a simple gift. There is nothing quite like giving to enrich the heart. In the words of Washington: when you help somebody, no matter where they are from, you make their heart very happy and so your heart will also be happy forever.

Hot Chocolate and New Shoes:

The Andean mountain landscape is truly beautiful. Rolling hills with grazing llamas set against the backdrop of the soaring snow-capped Andes. This is what you see from afar.

However, stepping inside a village allows a closer look into the reality of the living conditions. These are high altitude villages, most above 10,000 feet. There is no electricity or running water. It is often bitterly cold, windy, and dry. Most houses are made of earth and rock with dirt floors. The people in their brightly colored attire appear older than their age, skin deeply cracked, as the lifestyle is so harsh. Food can be scarce and the main, larger village can be 4 or more hours walk away.

With the help of our guide, and founder of the Universal Path of the Heart Restaurant, Washington Gibaja Tapia, we were able in 2007, to provide over 500 new pairs of shoes to most of children of the villages of Willoc and Patacancha and some from beyond.

And to brighten this cold, rainy day, we also prepared for all the families, fresh bread and a rare treat, hot chocolate. The money for this day was funded entirely by donations from our traveler-clients and their friends.

Washington founded his hot chocolate program many years ago. The idea was to bring all the upper Andean Villages hot chocolate and bread on Christmas. This treat is something that brightens the lives of these people and gives them something to look forward to on Christmas day. He manages to do this every year, though sometimes it takes him a week or more to reach all the villages. This is how he spends his Christmas, helping others and bringing smiles.

When touring with us to Peru, if you like, you can ask your friends and family to donate. When we arrive, we pool our donations and give them directly to the cause. No operating costs, 100% to the kids.

Many of our clients continue to contribute to Path of the Heart and the Hot Chocolate Projects as they have been so touched by the experience, and wish to continue to help.

A new bed for Carlos and Eva

We met Carlos and Eva and the ruins of Ollantaytambo. They sang and danced for us as we toured the site.

Washington knows this story well. He once did the same, in order to make money to feed himself and his brothers. This was before Dr. Sharon Forrest started helping Washi and his brothers by donating money to send them to school, feed and clothe them. Today, Washington and his brothers are all University educated, and busy giving-back to their communities.

These children, their beautiful, bright eyes, their sweetness, and their lack of clothing in the cool weather touched us. Washi informed us their father had abandoned them and their mother was a drunk, so they were on their own at ages 9 and 11, to work and make money for food. They were not in school as they should be and didn’t have much hope in life of rising beyond this condition.

So, we decided we would help them. Each month Red Lotus along with Root and Branch Acupuncture (www.rootandbranchacupuncture.com) sends money directly to Washi who then personally takes care of the children.

It started with a new bed and some food and continues toward our goal to get them back in school, clothed and fed daily; to take away the stress no child should have and to give them a chance in life. It’s a small effort, but I have seen what this kind of small effort has done for Washington and his brothers, and we are inspired beyond words.

Nepal:

The grass roots projects we work with in Nepal are:

*More project news coming soon!

Nepali Children's Trust (www.nepalichildrenstrust.com), a home for disabled and abandoned children in Kathmandu, Nepal. We spend a wonderful day with these children taking them on an outing and making them feel special.

SOS Bahini, a small group dedicated to saving young girls off the streets in Nepal.The program, founded by a Buddhist monk, provides the girls withschooling,a safe and loving place to live, and gives them back their self-esteem.We will have the opportunity to meet some of these girls and prepare and serve them dinner as well as offer gifts we may have brought from home.

The Buddhist Child Home, an orphanage founded and run by a Nepali woman. Thiswoman and her husband have taken in nearly 100 children off the streets and care for them in their own home. It is truly remarkable what they have accomplished and what they do for these children.