Help Rebuild Nepal Orphanage

Family, friends, beloveds, strangers...

Hundreds of you have been following my journey throughout Southeast Asia for the past 14 months on Facebook  & Instagram.

Many of you have asked why I chose to pack my bags and leave home to move to a third world country, willingly leaving all of the "comfort" and "security" of life in America behind.

There are a ton of reasons that aren't necessary to delve into now, but the bottom line was this: "home" in the States never truly felt like home, and this became more obvious to me with every move I made from coast to coast (and a few places in between), especially as I embarked on a very personal journey of healing + a quest for truth and a higher purpose in my life around the end of 2012.

My heart yearned for a deeper connection with my physical surroundings, and a society whose values and way of life were more in alignment with my highest truth.

Looking back now, I understand my soul was ready for an adventure full of challenges, personal growth and soul evolution that I could not have come close to imagining, without me even truly being aware of it at the time.

So, in March 2014 I made the spontaneous decision to buy a one way ticket to Bali, Indonesia to create a new life for myself, and hopefully find the home I had been yearning and searching for nearly my entire life. My intention was to be of service for various charities until I figured out my next move, because I knew helping others could only result in me helping myself and becoming a better person in the process.

This is what pure joy with Balinese children looks like!

During my first four months in Indonesia, I volunteered with a few organizations in Bali, including Yayasan Solemen (who provides everyday necessities and medical care for the extremely poor + disabled in Bali), and Yayasan Kasih Peduli Anak (an orphanage who houses and provides education for 30+ local children). I also befriended and stayed with a couple of local Balinese families, who I can now, with ample gratitude, call family of my own.

A glimpse of life as a 'SOLEgirl' in Bali.

My angels from YKPA Orphanage in Bali.

Visiting a few of the families in the slums of Bali + smiles on the beach with Javanese students.

After spending time in Bali, I decided it was time to venture out and explore other islands in Indonesia. I hopped on a boat to Gili Air, a very tiny island near northwest Lombok and fell in love with the peaceful atmosphere and incredibly friendly locals, who all seemed to desire the connection I felt was lacking between locals and foreigners in Bali. I planned on staying one week in Gili Air, but one week turned into four months between this tiny little island and various villages in nearby Lombok.

Celebrating Galungan with my Balinese family — Ibu Ketut, Maha and Komang.

Because I stuck around for a while (unlike most foreigners who only came for holiday), I again grew extremely close with many locals on the island. This resulted in them inviting me back to their home villages in Lombok to stay with their families, and for a few days, one week or two weeks at a time, these families were kind enough to take me in as their own, feed me as much as I could possibly eat, and make room for me to share a space on the floor with them. With open hearts and unshakable smiles, they became the family I needed, as mine was (and is) over 10,000 miles away in America.

Visiting my family in the villages of Narmada & Praya in Lombok.

Without delving too much into my personal experience (trust me, I've got wild stories for days!) with these families, I'll say this: I have never felt so welcomed into so many complete strangers' homes, and lives, for that matter. These local families took care of me in some of my most challenging moments over the last year, like when I lost my ATM card after a bag of mine had been stolen, which meant I had absolutely no cash or access to cash for three weeks; and I came down with typhus at the same time, which meant I was bedridden for nearly a month, as it has the same symptoms as malaria and dengue. They fed me, gave me medicine, tons of coconuts, and loving support, with absolutely no expectation of anything in return. (And this is just one example of many!)

My gorgeous Indonesian sisters — Nur, Ida, Byan, Sweania — so blessed to call these women my family!

They opened their hearts and their homes to me, would always tell me they missed me before I would even leave, and call me until I promised to return. I don't know what I did exactly to deserve these angels in my life, but their selfless love and generosity, overflowing compassion, sensitivity, kindness, and heart warming smiles made me finally feel like I had found home on the other side of the globe.

After 8 months in Indonesia, I decided that I wanted to begin traveling throughout Southeast Asia to discover and experience more stunning mountains, beaches and villages, and connect with even more beautiful souls. I've since traveled and volunteered in Malaysia, Borneo and most recently Thailand, where I spent a few months on a remote island sleeping on the beach under the stars, sharing tons of love and laughter with Thai locals.

My beautiful Thai family, who I lived with for one month, the Khondees.

All of that, to say this — the attitudes of the Indonesian families who took me in as their own are found throughout nearly all of Southeast Asia. This region of the world as a whole is infinitely more loving, generous, patient, kind and open hearted than any group of people I have ever known. I always hope that through sharing my journey with those who care to follow, that I can inspire them to jump out of their comfort zone and come see for themselves how breathtakingly beautiful this side of the world is.

Receiving blessings from Mama Khondee & sharing smiles with my sister Anittaya in their hometown of Chumphon.

While Southeast Asian countries are considered very poor (and typically cast aside as less than) in the material western world, they are spiritually rich in LOVE and KINDNESS, which to me, are the most important values one can have.

Not only that, but a majority of these people live humbly in their villages, only taking what they need from Mother Earth and always sharing with one another. The three most important things in Asian culture are family, faith and food — their lives revolve around and rely upon their loved ones, their local communities, sharing and their unwavering devotion to their respective religions.

My babies! NongQ + Namfon — the two lights of my life who I lived with during my last month in Thailand.

The bottom line is this: they stick together. And if you're lucky enough to be personally involved with one of these families, they'll stick by you forever as well.

In short, I found my place in the world, where I've felt most at home, and whose values and way of life align with my own. I've experienced an incredible amount of growth and healing during my time here, and will continue this journey for as long as the universe sees fit.

Now, you may be wondering, what does any of this have to do with the earthquake in Nepal?

When I originally heard the news of the earthquake on Saturday — which has taken nearly 4,000 lives (with the death toll constantly rising) and left tens of thousands without shelter, food, clean water, or access to necessary medical care — it didn't quite sink in. Not until I awoke around 2 am Sunday morning, feeling an overwhelming sense of emptiness and like my most loved ones had just been taken from me. I had no idea where these feelings came from, especially in the middle of the night, but I knew that my heart ached and I couldn't help but cry, until it hit me that I was finally processing these devastating events in Nepal.

This country and it's people, whose spirits undoubtedly mimic those whom I have met in Indonesia, Malaysia, Borneo and Thailand were crying for help, and I felt that cry thousands of miles away. I knew I had to let these painful feelings wash through me, and I did the only helpful thing I knew to do, which was to pray. I asked for guidance from the universe to show me how I could be of service to the Nepalese — what could I possibly do from my current position in Southern Thailand, so far away and never having been to Nepal myself?

Not surprisingly, the answer I sought came Sunday evening through a dear friend who has been supporting an orphanage in Kathmandu called Children of the Universe for quite some time. She helped me to get in direct contact with the managing director, Tsering, who I immediately asked how I could help. By the end of our conversation, I had learned that they currently have 45 displaced children who are sleeping outside, because the orphanage has been almost entirely destroyed. I decided that I would get on a plane to Kathmandu, begin raising funds for the rebuilding of this orphanage, and get the children in a safe place as soon as possible.

The children's makeshift beds, which are outside because the earthquake destroyed their home.

Better days at COU...

Tsering and Children of the Universe did not own the land the orphanage was built on, so his goal is to find new land of their own to purchase, and rebuild the orphanage there to ensure the security of children's lives for as long as humanly possible.

I fully support his ideas and hope that you too can understand the need for such security in the lives of these vulnerable children who had already lost so much in the form of their families, before they could have dreamed of losing the only home they knew in Nepal's worst earthquake in 80 years.

Tsering has informed me that land big enough for four rooms costs about $10,000, and obviously that is not enough space for 45 children. Land will cost a minimum of $20,000, and then we must buy building materials on top of that... $10,000 is my first goal, but I will undoubtedly be increasing that number in the coming months once we have more information!


The remains of COU... Help me to rebuild their home!

Because I am currently in Thailand, and therefore so close to Nepal, I am willing to jump on the next plane to Kathmandu to be of service! But, as Kathmandu and surrounding villages are pure chaos at the moment, flights are constantly being canceled, and food and clean water are hard to come by, I'm going to avoid being another mouth to feed until things calm down a bit and there is a more stable supply of food and water. I will go to Nepal in mid June, and I will stay as long as necessary to ensure the children's livelihood is completely restored.

Fortunately, once I posted on Facebook about my intentions, my friend Katie (who I connected with through social media over a year ago) messaged me saying she was ecstatic because she was also looking for opportunities to be of service, and the Universe answered her through my request for help for COU. Don't you just love how the Universe works?


In addition to that, one of the greatest, most loving and passionate men I've ever known, Ian (who I met nearly ten years ago in our local underground music scene, and our friendship has since evolved into the most heartfelt connections I've had the pleasure of experiencing), has decided to fly from America to Nepal as soon as he can secure the funds to do so.

Both Katie  and and Ian  have their own campaigns as well, and between the three of us our initial goal is to raise over $25,000. I say 'initially' because the cost to buy land and building materials will definitely exceed that... But $25k is a good start!


As the three of us gather from three different corners of the world, I will be graced with the company of two of the most soul-driven people I know, and I couldn't be more excited for the children of COU to be loved by us!

As this campaign continues and time goes on, I will update this page as often as possible to share where your money is going and how exactly it is being used.

If you have reached this final paragraph, I cannot thank you enough for taking the time to delve into my journey and allowing me to share my story with you. If anything I've shared has resonated with you, yet you cannot or choose not to donate, I completely understand. The next best thing I can ask from you is to share this campaign and our story with everyone you know, especially through social media and email, as that will guarantee I can begin the next leg of my journey and be of service to these displaced children as soon as possible! THANK YOU!