Our speaker for June 21 - William Aura

William Aura, a retired musician, gave a presentation about his journey of helping the people in Nepal.  Approximately ten years ago, he sponsored a young boy who lived in Kathmandu, Nepal and put him through school.  In 2006, he decided to take a trip to Nepal to meet this young boy in person.

The boy took him to the village where he was from.  William was the first westerner to visit the village.  He says it was like going back in time about 200 years.  There were no cell phones, television, electricity, etc.  The children played with blocks of wood and stones as toys, yet they were very happy.  The people lived entirely off the land.

William felt that the village should have a school so he started talking to friends about his idea and in no time he had the money to purchase land and build a school.  It is approximately a two hour walk from the village to the nearest town so everything had to be carried in.  The school was successfully completed and now serves approximately 100 children. 

The village was having a very big problem with girls between the ages of 9-11 being taken for trafficking.  Part of the education program that William started educates the people about this problem and how to avoid it.

The biggest health issue in the village is death by snake bite.  William saw several children die from this.  The villagers did not know about antivenom.  Instead, they called the Warlock over to the bitten child and they all prayed.  Now, when someone gets bitten, they get the Warlock and then all travel to the nearest hospital.

People can sponsor a child to attend school in the village.  It costs approximately $5.00 per month for a girl to go to school.  You can get more information about the Aura Imports Sponsorship Project on Facebook or at www.auraimports.com.

Thank you William for the great work that you are doing.

Deborah A. Perkins