November 30, 2017
Dear Friends, Members and Advisors:
It has been a while since we last provided an update, although so many things have happened in the last two months. We hope everyone is doing well!
His Holiness Sadhguru
From left to right: Kiran Kulkarni, Sadhguru and Niroo Chandaria – October 14, 2017
Sadhguru is an Indian mystic, yogi, and spiritual leader, having established the Isha Foundation in India. He has spearheaded several charitable initiatives in areas such as social outreach, education, and the environment. He has a significant following across the world. However, it was his concept of inner engineering that drew us to
him – Sadhguru has dedicated his life to the philosophies we will strive to teach at the Institute.
We were honored to host him in Toronto in October, and we organized an intimate gathering for him to speak of his teachings. More importantly, we signed a collaboration agreement with the Isha Foundation to officially commemorate the affiliation between our two organizations. Under Sadhguru’s leadership and guidance, the Isha Foundation has offered to assist in a number of ways, including having Sadhguru provide lectures from time to time, sending yoga instructors to our campus, and identifying potential non-paying children for enrolment at the
Institute.
Mike Handcock
Mike Handcock has an impressive resume, but most notably is a philanthropist who has been dedicated to various causes including the support of orphanages worldwide. Through his work and travels, he has connected with several like-minded people in an effort to make this world a better place. Mike is very excited to work with us to identify potential non-paying students in South Africa, Cambodia, and India. You can read more about Mike here: https://www.mikehandcock.net/.
Mike and his partner, Landi Jac, founded the Conscious Leadership Movement (https://www.consciousleadershipmovement.org) for entrepreneurs who believe that making a difference is just as important as running a successful business. Casa Laxmi is very honored to have been asked to speak at the CLM Summit in October 2018 in Siem Reap, Cambodia.
Save The Children UK
We recently connected with some representatives of Save the Children UK, responsible for child protection and safeguarding. They advised us of a large body of research related to the design of spaces so as to eliminate the risk of abuse. Much of this research is focused on residential schools. Given the vulnerability of half of our student body, and the fact that most will not have parents or families to speak for them, their protection is of paramount importance. Save the Children UK will guide us in navigating this research and also connect us with specialists in the area to work with our designers and architects to ensure that the Institute is a safe place for all. We are very fortunate to be designing the space from scratch, so we can truly take advantage of the information that is available and that is backed by decades of research.
PeaceJam Foundation
Casa Laxmi is very excited to be visiting PeaceJam’s headquarters next week in Denver, Colorado. PeaceJam is an NGO with status under the United Nations, operating in 39 different countries. Its mission is to connect children as young as five years old with Nobel laureates – through lectures, seminars, and workshops – to plant the seed of leadership and social change from a very young age. Its board of directors is comprised of 14 Nobel Peace Prize winners, including the Dalai Lama and Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Given the alignment in our respective visions, PeaceJam has suggested establishing a chapter at our Institute. This would be a phenomenal advancement for us, as we could then invite these world leaders to the Institute to further our mission of creating great human beings. You can read more about PeaceJam here: http://www.peacejam.org