Endless gratitude from Jambo Dragon School (JDS)

I always speak about the heart of community and how together we can make a difference. I want to write this to let you know of the wonderful things that we as a community do; you may not be aware of some of these things because I don’t always repeat them. Also, who wants to come across as a show off when it comes to enabling more peace and happiness within the world.

At the start of the growth of JDS, I was in Indonesia, and using the profits from trainings, that were then online to support the local children of the community in which I was staying.

Not only did we provide sustenance for the local kids, but we also donated freezers full of food to a local orphanage.

Ricky and I hired staff to help us manage our tasks. Ricky had found two families to support. One family included two parents that were unschooled, which meant it wasn’t so easy for them to discover employment. The other family was a single mother and son. The mother would probably be diagnosed with hearing issues, but it is likely not had the opportunity to seek professional help with that. These families lived with us, took care of us, and it was the members of JDS enabled the living arrangements and sustenance. We continue to support his families to this day.

On leaving Indonesia, I met someone from Nigeria who was imprisoned here. They were imprisoned here because they had married an Indonesian, but the marriage was religious and not legal. This meant that this individual overstayed their visa and was imprisoned because they were unable to raise the funds to go home. Their family was also unwilling to help them. JDS raised £7000 to send them back to Nigeria where they are now free and settled in their new life.

On returning to the UK, I was eager to support the local community. At the time I requested donations for refugees. Eventually, I had a room, full of incredible donations for every possible member of many families. Since then we have been taken care of one family who have settled in Newcastle upon Tyne from Syria. We offer them donations every month in order for them to engage with social activities that support their mental health. This was inspired from my previous worth of using yoga and meditation as a part of a social prescribing service.

Meanwhile, whilst all of this has been going on, I had unexpectedly met my Sanskrit teacher, who ended up being a nine-year-old boy at the time. I did not know he was nine years old until we were very deep in our work of translations. Since meeting his mother, who has become a significant spiritual guide. I have been taking some lessons from this incredible family based in Nepal. Every month they send prayers, which have been helping the way that I develop JDS. This means you have been ensuring that this young man is able to access needs around his education such as access to internet, sustenance, and a sense of security.

Something else that is worth knowing, is that in my free time, I spend time online with people in recovery from substance, misuse and mental health symptoms for free. This is because of your support.

Last, but not least is our most recent addition is a collaboration with a friend who runs an organisation known as Fierce Calm. They provide yoga, trainings, classes, and safe spaces to sleep for people in Ukraine. Very soon I will be making a contribution on behalf of all of us.

The work does not end here however, this is the most recent update. These families are appreciative of our collaborations. I need you to know that the way that you engage with your practices via JDS goes beyond, make yourself feel better. You are improving the lives of many others.

I cannot thank you enough . Even after writing this, I feel the need to continue meditating on the level of gratitude I have for what we do as a community for each other in the world around us.