“May I become at all times,
Both now and for ever,
A protector for the helpless,
A guide for the lost ones,
A ship for those to cross oceans,
And a bridge to cross rivers,
A sanctuary for those in danger,
A lamp for those in darkness,
A refuge for those who need shelter,
A servant to all in need.”
– Dalai Lama –
When I woke up this morning, I knew that I would write a blog post today about the importance of shelter.
Recently I have found myself needing to find a new place to live, and despite my best efforts of looking and searching, not much showed up. In fact, it wasn’t until all of my things were packed into a removal van, did I get a text message from a friend offering me to come and stay in their spare room. How funny the Universe can sometimes be, leaving you hanging, right until the 11th hour.
So, even though it’s Christmas, and the majority of my possessions are in storage, I am very grateful to have had a place to stay for the last few weeks, and will have for the coming months. This stray Kat has a home for the foreseeable future. Better still, the people that I am living with are all beautiful, kind and incredibly compassionate.
Plus, it seems as though I’m not the only stray who has been welcomed into the house, but another cat (who we have affectionately named Dave) has started to visit us regularly. In fact, I think he came to see us on 4 separate occasions yesterday. No sign of him today, but perhaps he’s enjoying some Christmas Treats with his own family today.
I can’t tell you how special it is knowing that I have a loving home to come and live in. A place where I feel welcome, and that I belong. Even though my biological family are on the other side of the world, it is incredibly comforting to feel part of someone else’s, when it isn’t possible to be with them physically.
And it is for this reason that the new company I am starting next year is supporting a Children’s Shelter in Kathmandu, Nepal called the Katja House Foundation. They exist to give shelter, food and clothing to the street children of Nepal.
And for every tote bag that we sell through Katkin, we will give shelter to one street child for one night.
There are over 30,000 street children in Nepal and there are 500 children a year that are added to that list in Kathmandu alone.
There is a running joke in Australia, that if you’re an expat here at Christmas and you’re not with your family, then you are referred to as an orphan, and that is true for me this year. In fact it will only be the second Christmas out of the 33 years that I’ve been on this planet, that I won’t be spending it with my family.
However, I’m grateful for the shelter and beautiful home that I have to live in, the lovely family that I am living with and the food, fun and frolics that we will all be enjoying together over the festive period.
If you would like to buy a tote bag and provide shelter for a street child for one night, skip over to our crowd funding page to purchase one and help us raised $10k by 19 Jan to start our business in 2014.
Wishing you a Merry Christmas Eve. 🙂
Sending you all love & light from Sydney,
Kat x x x
P.S.
Here is a beautiful song by the British songstress, Birdy called ‘Shelter‘.
Kat Kinnie's Blog 